


Dirty Thunder

by JM_Winters



Series: Storm Saga [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Canon Divergent, F/F, F/M, Gen, Healing from trauma, Hurt/Comfort, Magicat!Catra, Multi, Possibly Unrequited Love, Slow Burn, Trauma, from end of season 4, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 33
Words: 244,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24679486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JM_Winters/pseuds/JM_Winters
Summary: Catra finds family and begins to understand the pull between bonds and duty.Adora realizes how absence and perspective can make you realize you failed someone.Glimmer learns the importance voicing emotions rather than simply acting on them.Horde Prime’s death left a hole others are scrambling to fill and the 'Verse is an unforgiving place.AKA: Catra joins the wild west of space and meets others like her! Expect four well developed OC's, the BFS being more present after set up, and some MOTU characters to explain the deal with the Eternians/First Ones!Cannon divergent after S4. Sequel to Tempest with many season 5 developments kept in mind.Chapter 33: The ghost of Horde Prime makes Catra realize she needs Adora to finally understand her feelings.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra/Glimmer (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Melog (She-Ra), Catra/Glimmer (She-Ra), OC/OC
Series: Storm Saga [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784296
Comments: 88
Kudos: 141





	1. “Food Gives You Life”

Catra,

When Entrapta came through that portal, we stayed on Mara’s ship. Waiting. Wondering. Worrying. We all saw the portal close without you with us. Entrapta said something about Horde Prime coming for one final attack and I just...had a feeling.

You went to make sure that he was done for good, didn’t you?

Couldn’t you have at least come back after that? Or were you — are you running away again? Or are you lost? I just don’t know anymore.

I have a better question: did you do this for me? Did you think I wanted this? Or that this would make me happy? I’m struggling to understand. I know we have yet to reconcile everything, but that didn’t mean I needed grand gestures or some massive apology or anything. Just having you around so we could figure it out would have been enough. Didn’t you understand that?

Bow’s been reminding me that you’re still out there and to not give up hope on you yet. Glimmer’s been a bit distant lately, but encouraging me to do what I think is best.

I guess my only option is to find you and ask you those things myself.

*

Adora still dreams of She-Ra. She dreams of the new sword of Protection that came to her hand. To that moment on that platform with Horde Prime, where she stood, groggy, pained, but knowing she had to stand up. She had to. Her eyes flitted to all of her friends, struck down but still forcing themselves to their feet to fight the threat.

To Catra and her strange, newfound power, shifting between panther and human form, viciously tearing at Prime’s body until he hurtled her towards the walls, over and over again until Catra could only limp a few feet before slumping to the ground, too beaten. Adora remembered Prime’s fury when Entrapta’s plan worked and him advancing on her, only to be stopped by Hordak and Adora both.

What still haunted her though, was Hordak’s smile. The way he sounded so grateful when he thanked them all as he breathed his last.

Adora woke up in a haze, not for the first time, but a shadow caught her eye. They were sitting towards the end of the bed, slumped as if dozing. She felt the warmth of this hand in her own and so Adora squeezed the hand. The person in question straightened up and began turning towards her.

“Catra?” Adora asked. She noticed the magenta hair long before she sighed.

“Morning, Adora.” An expression could tell you a lot. Especially if they were quick to change. For a moment, Glimmer seemed very withheld. Her expression was drawn and serious. Now she smiled and it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Oh.” Adora grinned from her way too soft bed, “Glimmer.” She paused. “Uh. Sorry.”

Glimmer withdrew her hand. “It’s okay. I think about her a lot too.” Glimmer looked about her room, quietly, silently, and Adora managed to roll onto her back to do the same, staring at the ceiling. She reached out for Glimmer’s hand again. Glimmer pulled away. Adora frowned at that.

“Bow’s up?” She questioned. “Geeze. Is it another project in the Fright Zone?”

“Yeah. Scorpia requested some help with something.” Glimmer’s gaze trained to the window as she stifled a yawn. “Said he’ll be back before evening.”

“Did you even get any sleep?” Adora raised an eyebrow as she sat up. She looked at the young queen and only saw exhaustion on her face.

“Tons.” Glimmer yawned again. Adora’s feet hit the cold floor then and she began pushing Glimmer backwards. The young queen tried to fight her off but instead they both careened backwards and Adora took advantage of it, using her weight to keep Glimmer pinned there. “Adora!”

“Look, me and Bow didn’t come over here from the very long distance of the rooms on either side of your own for a sleepover, your Majesty,” she began, snarky and smirking as she tapped Glimmer on the nose playfully, “just so that you could end up getting no sleep whatsoever! We even made you your favourite tea, tucked you in, and cuddled up on either side of you, and you still look like you haven’t slept in days!”

“Well, I kinda sorta did…” Glimmer stared up at her for a long time before blowing a stream of air at Adora’s hair, which cascaded between them. “wake up after you two fell asleep.” Her purple eyes widened at the growing disapproval on Adora’s face at her admission “and maybe I kinda sorta I sneaked out of bed to get more work done and planned to be back before either of you woke up?” She explained in a gush.

“Why!?”  
“Can we not do this?” Glimmer groaned. “Bow and I already did this! Can we not?”  
“Nope. You’re getting the Adora version!”  
“Ugh! Adora! Fine!” Glimmer hit her forehead with her palm. “I had to get stuff done!”  
Adora’s eyes twitched. “Like. What?”

“The Etherian Restoration Project. After so many years fighting the Horde everyone deserves to just have home be...home again.” Glimmer turned her head to the side but wrapped her arms tightly around Adora pulling her down on top of her. Adora yelped but didn’t fight Glimmer. The queen put her head in the crook of the blond’s neck. “The paperwork is never ending, but I almost made it to yesterday’s pile.”

Adora hugged her just as tightly. “Just. Try not to push yourself too hard, please?”

“Says the person lecturing me about getting sleep when she has nightmares, and is about to run off to Entrapta again to help her with her research.”

“It’s for Catra.”

“I know.” Glimmer let her arms unwrap from Adora then, and she gave Adora a peck on the cheek. Adora didn’t move, however, and the queen pouted, before teleporting herself behind Adora as she began smoothing her hair out.

“Okay, that’s not playing fair!”  
Glimmer grinned. “If you get to be She-Ra, I get to teleport.”  
“That doesn’t even I~” Adora’s face screwed up. “I wasn’t She-Ra!”  
“But aren’t you always She-Ra?”  
“Well, I technically haven’t been since Catra disappeared so how about~”

A knock had startled them out of their playful debate. Adora could instantly see Glimmer deflate. Hear her soft resounded sigh as her shoulders rounded.

“Your Majesty?” It was all gone as quickly as that moment came. Glimmer schooled her expression into something serene. Something mask-like. Adora didn’t like it.

“What is it?” Glimmer called through the door, her voice steady and even. Regal.

“Your meeting will begin soon. Will you be touching base with Advisor Micah before we get started?”

“Tell my father I’ll need five minutes with just the two of us before things get started.”

“As you wish.” There were footsteps, then silence and Glimmer looked at Adora, her expression almost lost.

“Well, duty calls.” She forced herself to smile. “Try...to remember to let us know if you’re going to be spending an entire week in Dryll this time, would you?”

Adora felt the guilt but let it pass. “Will do. Try not to overwork yourself?”

Glimmer turned her back. “Etheria needs their Queen right now.”

With that, she disappeared.

*

“I can’t believe all of this got left in Despondos.” Catra had, for better or worse, gotten a lot more comfortable with talking to herself. What else were you supposed to do when stuck on the moon of your home back when it was in its own bubble of a pocket dimension. Better yet, what did you do if you were stuck there alone?

Well, Catra was almost alone.

“How long has it been since I heard anything from Prime?” It wasn’t an easy question. There was no sunlight here, very little food — most of it rations that were on the part of the ship that came with them. None of them were good. They seemed to be keeping her body full of nutrients, but they seemed like slightly better versions of the ration bars she grew up on. Since her time in the Crimson Waste, Catra has found there is more dimension to food, and now that she had no option of getting it, she really and truly did miss it. Ration bars just weren't the same anymore.

Time was measured in terms of when she last slept now. A day was from one sleep to the next. Nothing fancy but it helped her keep her head together. She dug into her pocket to take out a little piece of metal — she had cut the square with her claws one day, twenty sleeps ago. It was after several sleeps that she decided not tracking the time was far worse than tracking the time and realizing she had been here much longer than she would have liked. So she cut the square, filed it smooth on some other metal and that was that.

Catra’s green eyes practically glowed as she felt the little scratches in the metal. Five. It had been five days. There was no more groaning in pain off in the direction she left him. No crying and begging for himself to live longer, to get better. Just nothing. Catra wondered if this was for real this time, or simply a hoax. Very early on in this stay, Prime would go very still, as if dead, but when she went to him, he would talk, as if hoping forming some sort of strange bond with her would lead to him living.

“I could have freed you from grief. From your Adora. Given you peace and cleansed you in my light. If you had just followed me, Little Sister…”

Catra shook her head away from thinking about him as she found herself tripping over the ruins of this place. They were strange, ethereal in a way. It looked like a battle had happened here a very long time ago. She had asked Prime once, but he had very little to say.

“Probably refugees.” He surmised, even the tiniest of words taking tremendous effort now that his body had finally caught up to the reality that he wouldn’t be able to heal himself this time around or jump to a new body to save himself, “I’ve seen this...architecture before.” He had sneered then, attempting to be stubborn to the end. “They had magic. Filthy. Wild.” Then he was listless. “Disgusting.”

“Beautiful.” Catra told herself as she went through another collapsed building, finding strangely glowing vines around her. She stopped in front of a strange statue, and hummed, making not of it. She dug into her pocket as she stared at the thing, finding another small square of metal — she had made several for excursions like this. She peered at the humanoid statue with its mouth open and giggled at the thought as she began scratching words into alloy. 

‘Eat this. Food gives you life.’ Then she added ‘Catra was here’.

“Entrapta is going to find this so funny when I show her.” Catra placed the little metal token into its mouth “or would she be annoyed at me pretty much leaving graffiti here? Oh well, gotta keep myself busy on this rock somehow.” She patted the head of the little statue and hummed, walking away. She began heading back to the original crash site and where she last saw Horde Prime. She paused, only to double check she had a metal bar with her and continued on her way.


	2. “I guess even bad people can be scared of death...”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora gives Entrapta a hand.  
> Catra finds compassion for someone undeserving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of finishing up the last hanging fruits from Tempest.  
> We’re going to see more of where this is heading when the Crew show up next chapter :)

Catra,

So...Entrapta’s research…

Yeah. I know. But she’s the most brilliant person we’ve ever known. If anyone can help us bring you home it has to be her and Bow. It has to be.

I just hope we don’t get blown apart in the process. At least Entrapta seems like she’s having fun. See...she’s still really upset about losing Hordak. We’re worried she blames herself for freezing up and she’s trying to make up for it by helping Hordak’s, err … “brothers”. In fact, it’s looking like all of the Clones who were on Etheria and didn’t, well, die in the war? They’re staying with Entrapta now. She fought hard for it.

Glimmer was trying to find them homes and sadly a lot of places were less than amicable. So most of them are in Dryll, and the others in the Fright Zone. There’s a few of them who have become really interested in exploring too and some of them call the Crimson Wastes home. Huntara doesn’t mind.

Glimmer is hoping that someday, the remnants of Mystacor, the Kingdom of Snows, Plumeria, Sailenias, hopefully their people will be open to the clones being wherever best suits them as individuals. 

Glimmer says that’s what she’s aiming for, but the wounds of the war is still fresh for some citizens, which is why there was such a huge public outcry and pushback. Hopefully that gets a little calmer. That way, when you come home, you can go anywhere you want freely too.

—

“Entrapta?” 

Dryll was as confusing as ever. It was a virtual maze and no robots in sight. No, instead it was~

“May I help you, Lady She-Ra?”

Adora’s heart practically leapt into her throat. No matter what she did, she never got used to the beings who walked around looking like Hordak and yet sounded so eerily like Prime whenever they spoke. She looked at the clone and smiled at him and he attempted to smile back, but it was weird and looked more conniving than genuine.

“Good enough.” Adora dismissed, putting a hand on his shoulder, “uh...mind taking me to Entrapta...err, Wrong Hordak?”

Wrong Hordak winked and smiled. “Right this way!”

When Horde Prime’s Armada fell, so many of his clones were just left on Etheria with no other place to go. It was surreal and strange, and it worried a lot of citizens so the kingdom of Dryll took them in, though Adora had a sneaking suspicion that it was Entrapta’s odd way of coping with the fact that Hordak was gone.

“Adora! Help!”

Adora rushed over to the Princess of Dryll when she saw her dangling upside down from the ceiling. It wasn’t clear how she was going to be able to get Entrapta down, but soon that became of little issue when the woman started falling. Adora’s eyes widened as she tried to make sure she was in the right place to catch Entrapta.

She was off, just by a few inches and Entrapta came crashing down on her back instead, sending her catapulting to the ground. She groaned while Entrapta cheered.

“Landing success!”  
“For you. Maybe. Ouch.”

Entrapta grinned as she clamoured off Adora and made a seat of her hair.

“Alright, it was partially successful.”  
“I beg to differ.”

Entrapta smiled. “With all of the clones helping, it has been going smoothly, by the way. We should be able to find Despondos again and with it~”  
“Catra.” Adora pushed herself to her feet again.

“My next prototype for a much more stable portal will be completed soon.” Entrapta grinned at the thought, “and then could you imagine? Going to different planets, meeting different peoples, an entire galaxy — no universe — suddenly open to us after years of being shut out! Etheria is going to advance so suddenly that everything I’m working on now will be obsolete in years!”

“Riiiight.” Adora found a metal box and sat on it, looking to Entrapta. “Entrapta? How are you actually doing?”

“I’m ecstatic! Amazed! I’m going to have to double — no triple — my research output if I want to make sure the oncoming dawn of new technology continues with me at the bleeding edge! I should hire a lab assistant!” She paused, “maybe two lab assistants? Or five lab assistants?”

Adora smiled, but she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “How about we start smaller?” She asked, “Like maybe giving that Clone who’s really taking a shine to you some sort of name other than ‘Wrong Hordak’?”

“That is his name. Wrong Hordak. Because he’s not the Hordak I was looking for.”

Adora sighed, looking at said clone when he walked past, carrying, what looked like, tons of equipment. He was humming loudly, and practically dancing down the hall.

“Don’t you think it’s a little mean to…” she chose her words carefully, “define him by what he isn’t?” Adora paused, and then stressed, “or rather who he isn’t?”

Entrapta tilted her head. “But that is a scientific way of doing things. You define something by what they are and what they are not, and he isn’t Hordak but he’s a lot like Hordak.”

“And is that really fair to him to have his identity based on that to you?”

“Hmmm.” Entrapta frowned at that thought. “I think I see what you’re getting at. Alright then, I will tell him I’ll be calling him Wordak from now on!”

“Wait, did you just put Wrong and Hordak together and~” Adora shook her head. “Okay. Good enough. For now.” She won this small victory, trying to sweat the details was more grief and hassle. “Just what are we going to work on today?”

—

It took her two sleeps to get back to the crash site.

In the dim light, she could see movement. Catra scowled as she neared it. She gripped the metal bar she held tightly, her green eyes narrowing at the sight. She got closer and she could hear what it was, disgustingly. It was almost as if something was loudly eating, and she looked to the ground. First she saw drag marks with handprints. Then she just saw drag marks.

Catra swallowed hard, and she could see then, a strange, glowing creature.

“What are you doing?” Catra hissed. The creature in turn broke away from its meal and grew, its energy around it red and angry. If shifted shapes, first to a human shape, then something more resembling Catra herself. She extended her claws, ready to fight until she stopped. It wasn’t like anyone was going to miss Horde Prime, really. There was nothing to defend. The creature suddenly changed back into a large feline and lunged at her. She side stepped it.

“Woah! I’m not going to do anything!” She called out to it. It tried to attack and this time Catra tried a different tactic. Something compelled her to let go of the steel bar. So she did, putting both hands up. The creature, now taking her in, began to shift, looking more and more feline as it did, walking towards her. “Easy! Easy!”

She dropped one hand and was surprised when it came to nuzzle it.

“See. I’m not going to hurt you. What do you mean you already knew that? Huh.You can talk.” she froze, looking at the creature. “Wait, you can TALK!?” She received a nod for her trouble. “Well, um, don’t,” she looked around the creature, “eat that. Him. I know he was a terrible person and all, but I, uh, wouldn’t want you to, you know, make yourself sick.”

The creature purred at her and nuzzled her cheek and she giggled then paused.

“Melog?” She asked, confirming what it said. “That’s your name?” It nodded. “Well, can I ask you a favour, Melog?” Her eyes drifted to the body of Horde Prime. Catra had seen death before. A very long time ago. If she closes her eyes and thinks really hard, there was a woman with the same markings on her face and the same ears and tail. Catra vaguely remembers that the woman had gold and blue eyes just like Catra had once. Her eyes were closed, but peaceful when Catra saw her body.

Melog whinnied and began nuzzling her. She smiled and pet him in return.

“He doesn’t look peaceful, does he?” Catra began rummaging for the metal beam again and picked a spot, and started digging. “He looks scared.” She looked at Horde Prime’s expression, frozen for eternity — or until it decomposed — in an expression of pain and fear. His eyebrows furrowed. His mouth a heavy frown but not of disapproval. It was slightly parted as if in terror. It was so...pathetically human that it was hard to believe that he controlled most of the universe until his death.

“I guess even bad people can be scared of death, huh, Melog?” She went back to digging and called over to her new found friend, “help me bury him. It’s more than he deserves, but even he should have some dignity.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are still, of course, many other plot threads that need to be addressed from Tempest. I haven’t forgotten about the heart of Etheria, but in this cannon divergence I wanted to separate defeating Horde Prime from that arc purely because one does not just dispose of a dictator and heal all the problems caused by them and those who were fighting them in one fell swoop.
> 
> The crew is going to give us some more insight on the Verse, and let’s just say, as already hinted by Adora’s existence and Prime being blindsided by some things, that he didn’t see nearly as much as he thought he did, and people were struggling in their own ways to survive. i do truly think there are more First Ones out there and that might be not necessarily a good thing.


	3. "Nap time, Kitten."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia is finding leading the Fright Zone to be quite the adjustment.  
> Catra gets a lucky break...and a kick to the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have the introduction of the crew. At least part of the crew.  
> We will meet the Captain next chapter :)  
> Read, enjoy and feel free to drop me a line. :)

Catra,

We’re coming. I swear. I promise.

Please wait just a little while longer. Don’t go thinking I’m not going to come get you. I was always going to come for you. Even when you and Glimmer were both on Horde Prime’s ship. If we could only get Glimmer, I know for sure I would have come back. I’d have to. Despite everything — no, maybe it’s also because of everything — I’d have to go back for you. 

You’re Catra.

Etheria is slowly changing. Mystacor as you know is gone, but the sorcerers are taking everything that they can from the city and scouting out new locations nearby. They want Mystacor to remain as historical ruins while they set up a new Sorcerer’s Society. Glimmer and Castaspella haven’t been seeing quite eye to eye on this: Glimmer has been saying she wants Etheria to be more connected to each other than ever before. She believes some of Mystacor’s culture went against that in the past and should change. Castaspella thinks the sorcerers would lose their culture if they did that.

Do you ever wonder about your own culture, Catra?

I’m supposedly a First One. I’m not entirely sure, still, what that means for me or about me. Other than the fact that I am linked to the people who built the Heart of Etheria. The weapon that almost destroyed our home. The one that brought Horde Prime here and got us in that mess. You know, in the Crimson Wastes, I saw people like Rogelio, but no one like you. I wondered if you noticed that too.

Have you ever wanted to know where you came from?

*

“It has been...an adjustment. Quite the adjustment.” Scorpia was as radiant as ever, and Adora found that even with much of the old technology dismantled and being repurposed, the Fight Zone still held an air of familiarity that was at times uncomfortable. It also felt new, and foreign almost. There was a hum, almost magical, as though the activation of the Black Garnet was finally awakening that which the Horde had made slumber here long ago.

“I’ve kept most things intact, despite Mom and Momma’s disagreement. Hordak's lab should be the way he left it last.” She paused looking down to Adora, “Do you really think the answers for getting the portal to be stable are going to be here?”

“Well, it was Entrapta and Hordak who got the first portal working, right?”

Scorpia’s dark eyes widened, then dropped to the ground. “Right. It was Entrapta who did all that. How...is she doing?”

“Losing Hordak hit her really hard.” Adora admitted. She watched Scorpia shrink in on herself and reached out, putting a gentle hand on her arm. “Hey, are you okay?”

“I should be there for her, right? We’re best friends, but instead, I’m stuck doing all of…” she gestured all around them, “this.”

“The Etherian Restoration Project needs you, Scorpia. The Fright Zone is your home, and it’s your family’s Kingdom. You’re doing good work here.” Adora assured, “but if you need a moment to help out Entrapta, I’m sure Glimmer will understand.”

“You think so?” Scorpia murmured as they crossed the threshold into Hordak’s lair. “I mean, you don’t think she’ll be upset that I’m slacking or not doing my part or~”Adora shuddered at the intact tubes full of green fluid and something...growing. She snapped back to the conversation and shook her head.

“You and Entrapta are good friends, Scorpia. Glimmer will understand.” The taller woman seemed to be put at ease by that and Adora found herself relaxing a bit too. All of her attempts to let go of her tenseness failed when a giant crash was heard. Adora startled badly, jumping high into the air for a moment and only calming when she heard a yelp, and noticed Scorpia’s eyes widened with recognition. Scorpia sprinted over. A few moments later, she came out from behind a pile of rubble with a woman bearing dark hair and glasses. 

“Uh,” Adora sighed in relief, no danger in sight, “hello!”  
“Hi! Sorry about that, I’m~”

“Look at that! I’m so sorry,” Scorpia cut across, “I should introduce you. Adora this is my Mom, Ream. Mom, this is Adora, she’s~”

“She-Ra.” Ream deduced, a twinkle in her eye.  
“You’ve heard of me?” Adora gaped.

“You’re infamous.” Ream’s smile was coy. “Or did you forget Horde Prime asked the entire universe to turn you over?”

Adora flushed and looked away, and Ream chuckled. “Well, I didn’t expect you to be quite so adorable. Scorpia,” Ream reached up and affectionately touched her daughter by the elbow, “now, if you brought a girl like that home, your Mother and I would have no complaints!”

“Mom!”

Ream giggled, “I’m just saying, Pia, if you happened to inherit my love for very strong light haired women, I wouldn’t have too many complaints.” She reached up and fluffed Scorpia’s hair with her hand, and then added, “Isn’t that right, Lynda dear?” 

Lynda walked into view from around the corner and the moment Adora saw her, there was no doubt in her mind the woman was related to Scorpia. Whereas Ream had the dark eyes Scorpia inherited, Lynda’s white hair came with startling grey eyes, but other than that, she was very much like her daughter: solidly built, fairly tall, bearing pincers and all, and the same gentle smile.

She sidled up to Ream who smiled and pecked her on the cheek.

“Maybe I should ask before I blindly agree to something?”  
“Even at my Behest?” Ream arched an eyebrow, starting over the rim of her glasses.

“Especially at your behest, Ream.” Lynda’s eyes glowed with playfulness, then she turned to Adora, and paused taking her in. 

“Um, Hi!” Adora awkwardly introduced again.

“Is that~”  
“Indeed it is.” Ream answered.  
“I thought she’d be more...” Lynda lifted her claw so it was over her head.  
“That’s because she’s not transformed yet, Honey.”  
“Hmm.” Lynda put her claw to her chin. “Fair.” She looked to Ream thoughtfully.

“What is it...um...your majesties?” Adora tried.

“The Frightzone is hardly a kingdom. Well. Not anymore.” Lynda sighed, eyes falling to the ground.

“But we’re trying to change that! Right Mom? Momma?” Scorpia grinned, “which is why I’m needed here and~”

“A small request, She-Ra.” Ream interrupted. Lynda gently reached out to Scorpia with her own pincers, and gently pulled her into a side hug, “I would be a fool not to admit that Lynda and I miss our daughter. My father-in-law was a misguided man, and now we’re all fixing his mistakes.” Ream shook her head, “But, we think Scorpia is trying to take too much onto her shoulders about all this.”

“Wait, Momma, what are you saying?”

Adora caught on. “You want me to take her to see Entrapta?”  
Ream nodded, “Yes. And this other important friend of hers...if you’re able to locate her, let Scorpia come with you?”

“But...the Frightzone.”

“Scorpia, Sweetie,” Lynda was rubbing circles on Scorpia’s back, “I’m sure your Mother and I can take care of the Frightzone for you for a little while. You have nothing to worry about!”

“Really?”  
Lynda’s smile grew. “Definitely.”

*

“Hey, buddy.” Melog nuzzled against her chest and she smiled, scratching her — Catra had recently learned — behind the ear. The low purr she got made her smile and she closed her eyes for a moment before reaching upwards. Melog was quick to help push her to her feet and Catra nuzzled into her in thanks as she stood up in her makeshift hut. 

She looked at the assembled bits and pieces she had in front of her, and then took out of her pocket one more thing — shards to make a fully formed piece of the first one’s teck. She carefully lined them up into the metal frame she had cut and twisted into shape and then tightened it. She stared at her handy work and carefully walked it over to the other strange assortment of parts and pieces.

“I know this is…” Catra drifted off as she counted, “like the 20th time we’re doing this Melog, but I have a good feeling about this one.” She got a whimper in response, and she smiled. “It’s okay, I’m sure the worst that can happen is that we end up on some weird planet far from Etheria. We could stay awhile?” Catra purposed. “See a few places before we find our way back home.”

Catra wired up the console to the First One’s Tech. Then she took out her little metal slab. Twenty five sleeps since she met Melog. Over fifty since she was here. She smiled. Finally, they were going to put that all behind them now.

She pushed the button, and felt everything shift and whirled. She held tight to Melog and then…

There was nothing. No sound. No air. No warmth. She saw nothing but stars around her, but could only float aimlessly, unable to get momentum from anything. Her eyes widened in shock and then fear as she realized there was nothing her except asteroids in the distance.

Catra’s lungs began to burn. She looked around, frantically, for anyone and anything and felt Melog pull away from her.

“Wait…” she thought, unable to voice the words in the vacuum. “Don’t leave me here. Please.”

Just as her vision began to grow hazy, she saw something. Blue thruster fire, moving with momentum. Something mechanical. Melog, who had been circling her, rushed over to it, and she felt her lungs give out.

“Damn it. I have to...”

Suddenly, it was warm. Very warm, like a tropical forest. Catra could breathe again and the first thing she could smell was sterilized air, alcohol, and engine grease. She blinked her eyes open, and one of the two presences seemed to step back.

“Mal, hey, get over here!” spoke the voice of a young man. He turned his head over in the direction of his companion and Catra saw them and froze in shock. Ears, large and prominent like Catra’s own. “Our new Catling here is waking up and she looks hurt! Come on Mal, you’re better with that crap than I am!” He called behind him. He was lanky, but held an agile strength. He squatted and Catra could see now his blueish-green right eye and his eye patched left. His blue hair that fell across his sight. He brushed it back with a clawed hand, revealing the clawed shaped marks along the right side of his face. Gently, he lifted his hand to poke Catra. Behind him, Catra swore she saw a tail flick, and her own curled reflexively. 

“Yoooo!” He poked her again.

“Get your hands off me!” She swatted and scratched him, leaving deep, bloody welts on his arm. He pulled away with a hiss.

That earned a roar from Melog, who charged with vibrant energy, rushing recklessly forward and planting in front of Catra. The young man yelped as he jumped back, long canines showing as he wrapped his tail around his waist and curled his hands into fists.

“Listen, Kitty-cat! You may think you’re tough but I’ll beat you if I have to! Don’t mess with Moggie!”

“Is this what you called me for, Mog?” Came a raspy voice from behind them. It was soon followed by a set of heavy, boot clad footsteps on grated stairs. They were uneven, as if one foot hit the floor just a bit harder than the other.

“Just get over here!” He hissed as the footsteps slowed once reaching flat ground.  
“I thought the Captain made it very clear that we need to make it to a port for a job.”

Mal was much shorter than the young man, Mog. It Catra had to guess Mal was less than a head taller than Catra, but she was stunning. She was very dark, surprisingly so, with a patterning of faint stripes only noticeable when they caught the light a certain way. In that same light, the fur of her ears and her hair had the slightest hint of rust in its dark colour. She dressed in all black, including a button up shirt with a leather jacket over it. A collar like choker adorned her neck with a simple O ring. A black tail, which hid amongst her clothing choice, flicked with agitation as she crossed her hands, revealing her strangely asymmetrical gloves: one fingerless, exposing two thirds of the digits and her claws, the other fully covering all fingers but the thumb of her right hand. Her eyes were hauntingly golden and fixed onto Catra. 

“Well, excuse me, princess,” Mog’s interjection broke Catra’s attention as she groggily sat up, knowing she was being watched, “but last I heard from the captain, you’re just as much as part of the crew as every bloody other person on this boat. Now haul ass, will you?”

“We’re running a business Mog, not a charity. Mind your priorities.” Mal waved him off. “If Horde Prime is gone, we got problems.” She began counting off on her left fingers using her right thumb. More pirates. Idiots who want to take Horde Prime’s place. More Eternian patrols. Now, if you’d like to do different work, I’m sure people would pay a handsome price for a Tom like you.”

“Aw, you think I’d be a handsome Tomcat?” Mog snickered. “Would you join me?”  
“Absolutely not.” Mal’s hackles raised. “Rather die than be a Lioness in a Den~” Mal’s gaze trained back to Catra as she suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened, pupils dilating as her nose twitched. She moved much closer to Catra and in turn Catra could smell something woody and almost medicinal clinging to Mal’s fur and clothing.

“Mal?” Mog spoke to her softly when Mal remained so strangely silent, “Was that too far? Why do I think that was too far? But you were just kidding about it.” Mog growled and messed up his hair. “Argh. I shouldn’t have gone there. Even in jest.” He smoothed his hair back again. “Sorry — and please don’t tell Tab. I don’t want them to be all angry and protective and crap, I just thought maybe that since you were speaking so lightly about it, that maybe you were in good enough of a mood to...” he stopped rambling, noticing Mal hadn’t even moved a muscle. “You okay there?”

“Peachy.” Mal sniffed audibly, once, twice. “Shut up a second.” when Mog came up to her side, Mal flicked him between the eyes, and he covered it with a hand, scowling.

“Ow— Mal! You had me worried I did something wrong!”  
“You did.” Mal gestured sharply at Catra. Catra glared back at her.  
“Her?” He looked to Catra. “She’s a Theran! One of us! Plus she could have died!”

“Could have bothered Tomas.” Mal countered, plainly. “And leave me the hell alone.”  
“He’s cooking, we’re hungry and you were in the medbay alone doing what, exactly?”  
“Getting to know myself better.” Mal flipped her long, wavy hair over her shoulder.

There was a beat or two as Mog eyed her. “That why you smell like an Apothecary?”  
“I was pawing through all of the intel, thanks.” Mal flicked him again. “Now piss off.”

“Who the hell,” Catra couldn’t help it, her voice croaked on the word and Melog stayed hissing at them, “are you guys?” Melog lunged at Mog, and he yelped at first before wrestling Melog to the ground. Mal merely watched the two of them roll together with a cool gaze before putting a hand to her mouth and whistling.

The strangest sight met Catra then: a pink lion burst through from somewhere above them. It was large, it’s mane making it look even more impressive as it sprinted towards Mog and Melog. Catra leapt to her feet, tired and exhausted as she was, she saw an opening and lunged at Mal. Mal stepped back before the swipe could connect. A gloved hand pushed Catra off balance when she made another swipe, and the woman pivoted behind her. She felt claws rake themselves along her back and yelped before spinning into a kick at Mal’s head. Mal stopped it with her right arm, then scooped it into her armpit, locking Catra’s leg in the air.

“Crap!” Catra hissed as she tried to wiggle free.

“Not bad.” Mal’s lips almost twisted into a smile, “but not good enough.” Mal’s elbow was thrown against Catra’s temple. Catra was quick enough to put her arms up for the second strike but was dazed. Then she felt pain in her leg, and felt herself hurtling to the floor. She crashed against it hard, and rolled onto her side in pain. From there, Catra could see Melog getting pinned down by the lion before Melog was thrashed against the floor just as hard as she had been. The Lion hovered, mouth at Melog’s throat in silent threat yet not committing to the act.

“Claudine,” Mal strutted over, hand on her hip, “just keep the little pet still, will you? Don’t kill it or hurt it though.” The lion made a sound. “Good girl.”

“Melog!” Catra called out. She rushed to her feet with a singular thought: to get out of danger and save Melog. She lunged for Mal, nothing but by pure instinct, her body reacting to her desperation by shifting. Mal’s eyes widened with surprise, and Catra found herself low to the ground and barrelling towards the woman. Mal jumped over her and flipped behind Catra, then leapt to one of the ribs of the walls when Catra pushed to her hind legs to swipe at her.

Then Catra was jolted back to reality and awareness when she felt a foot slam into her head. She felt her body shift back to normal just before her vision darkened and her body collapsed underneath her.

“Nap time, Kitten.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On Scorpia's Mothers: Together their names are Lynda and Ream. Which when said together sound very close to Lynda D'Ream. The nod to that aspect of 80's Scorpia is intentional. ;)
> 
> Mog and Mal's relationship with Catra out of the four crew members is probably the most intriguing to me, which is why it made sense to introduce them first. They are, until Catra joins them, the two youngest of the crew, and also the closest in age to each other. This means Catra's arrival ends up being the most disruptive to the dynamic these two had. Now Mal is officially the awkward middle child, Moggie's no longer the youngest, and he is now closer in age to Catra than he was to Mal. Our other two crew members are going to have important roles, but both of them respectively, The Captain - Tab, and the mechanic -- Tom will vibe with Catra very differently just because the age difference between them and Catra is much more stark (upwards of 10 years for Tab and more than 20 for Tom).
> 
> I kind of see it as Mog and Catra having a bit of a brother-sister dynamic of kids who are a similar age who rib each other.  
> Mal's kind of that older sister who is strangely mature - though she has Very Good Reasons (TM) - and deep down has no chill.  
> Tab is the adult sibling who waffles between being a parental figure and a goofy sibling who just happens to be an adult.  
> And Tom's totally the awkward Dad/Uncle who's just trying to keep the kids from killing each other, haha.


	4. "Don’t bother showin’ your fangs until y’know how long your enemy’s claws are."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer pushes herself to standards she knows deep down aren't there.  
> Catra meets the Captain of the Crew and gets a strangely generous offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man. I got a rough lay out of all the rest of the chapters for here on out. If my brain will cooperate, perhaps we can go two updates a week? We shall see. :)

Catra,

It might take us longer to get to you than we were planning.

The good news is that Entrapta claims she’s got a portal working that is stable and won’t leave us with missing limbs? She also says she’s more or less figured out where you sent yourself and Prime.

The not so good news?

Glimmer isn’t in great shape, and I think both you and her would like it if she came with us.

*

Bright moon was in chaos.

Not the chaos of full blown war like it had been for so long, but there was a whisper in the halls, concerned glances shared between guards, and judging by how pinched Micah’s face was, worry. Tons of worry. He hovered over Adora like a spirit and even she felt the heaviness of his worry hang around her.

“I don’t know what happened,” Micah explained factually as he led him and Adora towards Glimmer’s room, “she was perfectly fine, and then she was on the ground.”

“Maybe she’s just exhausted?”

“Are you sure?” Adora tried not to frown. “You haven’t spoken to any of the others connected to the Runestones, have you? Are they alright? Does the Moonstone look like it should or is there something wrong with it?”

“Nothing’s wrong with the Runestone!” 

That voice caught Micah’s attention and Adora’s as well. Up ahead of the hallway, holding tightly to the door handles before them, Bow looked to Adora and Micah and frowned.

“She’s fine.” Bow promised. “She. Needs. Rest.”

Micah looked worried. “Sailenias was asking for a meeting about reconstruction~”

“She hasn’t slept in days Micah. Did you notice?”  
Micha looked properly chastised. “I...noticed she looked tired. But I trusted she had a handle~”

“Well, right now, she doesn’t, and if you go in there she’s going to convince herself she should be doing something other than resting.”

Micah’s shoulders drew up to his ears before they dropped and he nodded in understanding. When he was far down the hall and disappearing out of sight, Adora raised an eyebrow and then a second.

“So…” Bow turned to her and gave her a guarded smile, “is she really not doing well, or has she decided she’s sick of all of the ‘Queenly Duties’ for a little while and is making a bit of a scene of it all?”

“Funny thing you should ask.” Bow gave her a guarded smile. “I had to convince her to take a break from all of those — as you put it — ‘Queenly Duties’, and then she kinda sorta,” he mimed, with his hands a falling over motion. “So yeah. Not good. Guards freaked out when I carried her back like that. The healer freaked out when he felt how high her fever was, and then I freaked out when I saw her teleport to a meeting not even an hour later.”

Adora winced. “How does Micah fit into that?”

“Well, during the meeting, she seemed very disoriented, and then Micah freaked out about how unwell she seemed.”

“Stubborn Glimmer is stupid Glimmer.” Adora groaned, shaking her head and covering her face. “What were you guys doing, anyways?”

“Just a little bit of archery practice! Like old times. I thought it’d be fun, and she wouldn’t have to take us anywhere far, and it wouldn’t be too exhausting, but it would help her blow off a little steam. You know?” He sighed, running a hand back and forth through his hair. “So much for that…”

They stood there for a long time before Bow looked to the door, then looked back to Adora.

“How was your last visit to Dryll?”  
“I think we might be ready.” Adora admitted. Bow looked at her, and then the door.  
“Adora, do you think, maybe…”  
“We avoid telling Glimmer it’s done?” She finished the thought.

Bow sighed. “At least, for a little while? She’s going to want to come with us, and she’s not going to take no for an answer.”

Before Adora could agree or disagree with the plan of action, the whirring of teleportation caught their ears and Glimmer stood there, wobbly, but with both hands on her hips. Her hair was plastered to her face, and she frowned from hooded, exhausted eyes.

“Entrapta’s finally done locating her, right?” Glimmer declared. “So when are we going to get Catra, guys?” Both Bow and Adora smacked their foreheads.

“You were eavesdropping!?”  
“Well, you were right outside my bedroom door, Bow!”  
“You are supposed to be in your bed right now!”  
“No need! See I feel fine!”

To demonstrate this, she teleported up and down the hall several times before teleporting back in front of them. Her smile wavered though, and Bow caught her before her knees had given way.

“You’re not invincible, Glimmer.” He murmured to her softly. “It’s okay to stop for a little while. No one is going to hold you at fault for that.”

“But Mom never rested when…” she was already half asleep and Bow looked even more concerned as he carefully lifted her up and heard her murmur ‘I’m sorry, Mom.’

“Let’s get you back to bed.”

*

“Oi! Kitten!”

Catra groaned, pained, low in her throat. Her head ached like hell, but it also felt like there was something fabric around it. Bandages she suspected, as she felt the same gauzy material along her abdomen as well. She went to touch it, but the jangle of chains told her everything she needed to know.

Melog was close by too, but caged, whimpering softly in the corner.

“Oi, Kitten! C’mon, let’s have a lil chat.”

Catra pushed herself into a seated position, knees pulled to her chest, as she stared to the corner of her room where the sight of someone standing with one leg propped up on a chair caught her attention. They bore similar features to the other two she had met on the ship so far: those large, cat-like ears, the tail, those iridescent eyes — this time in a blue so similar to what one of Catra’s own eyes used to be. They also bore deep brown skin with black stripes along their body and had a smattering of brown freckles everywhere, from what Catra could tell. This made their stark white hair, which was braided back into a neat ponytail stand out.

There were also a couple of other things Catra took note of: a large scar going from where their shoulder met their collar bone, down to their sternum, disappearing below their tank top. It was old but still a lighter brownish pink than the rest of their skin. A holster on their right side, currently occupied with a gun. A beautiful, glinting silver chain with a pendant shaped like a fang in translucent warm brown stone. An intricate half sleeve tattoo that looked like a series of runes on their left arm, centering on one character in particular: a looping, v like symbol.

“Awake?” A sly tooth slipped past the speaker’s grin. “Good.” Their brown tail flicked back and forth as they placed an arm on a propped leg, “Sorry ‘bout the crew. Seems they got a lil rough.”

Catra glared. “A little?

“Mog’s hot blooded,” the Captain explained away, “Mal? You caught her on a better day.”  
“Better?” Catra snorted and looked away. “She drop-kicked me in the face!”

“Saw the aftermath,” the captain sat down on the chair backwards, legs spread to either side, arms folded overtop. “We rib she makes a worse friend than some enemies, but no one’s got your back more when shit hits. Just takes gettin’ her first.”

“So what?” Catra lifted her chin, trying to imitate defiance, though she could see Melog still curled in a ball. “You’re the captain of this bucket of bolts?”

“Our ship,” they corrected, “respect where due or we toss y’out the airlock.”  
“Well, it doesn’t look all that impressive, Captain.” Catra stressed, smirking.

“Tabby Manx.” Tab jabbed their thumb at their chest. “Call me Tab. Everyone does.” The captain reached behind them and lightly rapped on one of the ribs of the walls with their knuckles. The sound of metal echoed back. “Not big, nor flashy but ours. Welcome to Purrsia. Crew’s currently four. We’d love extra hands.”

“What? You want me to stay?” She found the entire idea all too ridiculous and her laughter betrayed that. “After beating the crap out of me?”

“Well,” Tab chuckled, thoughtful, stroking their chin. “Would that be crass?” Tab simply shrugged. “Honestly, kind of works. Hell, old man Tom and I nearly killed each other when we met. Whooo boy.” Tab grinned. “Bit of a misunderstandin’, that.”

“You sound like a bunch of freaks.” Catra snorted.

“Freaks live the longest out in these parts.” Tab’s grin only grew when they heard Catra scoff loudly at that declaration. “What’s your name kid?”

“None of your damn business.” Catra huffed. Melog in the corner seemed to take note and glowed red.

“Y’know, Adora’s a really pretty name,” Tab’s smile turned feral and feline, “that your girlfriend?” Catra could feel her face burning. Then Tab raised an eyebrow. “Or would ‘Glimmer’ be your mate instead?

“What the hell is it to you?” Catra snapped.

“Honestly, honey,” Tab’s voice was patrenizing, “couldn’t care less about who y’sleep with,” when Catra made a sound, Tab’s eyebrows rose, “or rather, who y’wish y’were sleepin’ with?” Tab made an amused sound. “Ah. Youth.” The cat-like grin gave Catra the impression that Tab was messing with her. 

“Don’t make fun of me, you creepy old hag!” Catra hissed.

“Pretty sure I’m a lil young to be your parent, Kitten.” Tab’s voice dripped with sarcasm, “Well, technically, I’m not,” Tab let a short, choked laugh escape, “but the logistics of that is somethin’ I’d really rather not entertain.”

“You have white hair.” Catra threw back.

“People grow older than their years out here.” Tab shrugged, “Survival’s a bitch.” Tab hummed as they stared at their claws, but those last words had Catra’s ears perking.

“Survival? If you can afford a ship like this—”

“Amazin’ what a lil theft does.” Tab smirked, “anyways, good to see one of our own. Therans this far from the Felis system are rare, nevermind a stray.”

“Excuse me?” Catra asked incredulously.

“Guessin’ y’got separated durin’ evac?” Tab shifted sideways, draping one arm over the back and crossing their legs at the knee, “Y’remember your parents at all, kid?”

“No.”  
“Not even slightly?” Tab pressed, closing their left eye. “Doesn’t have to be their voice or face. Scent is the earliest memory we Theran keep.” Catra could feel her hackles raising.

“Look, all I knew was~” she cut herself off thinking better than to end that sentence with the words ‘the Horde’. Prime had quite the reach. She worried what the reaction would be. Hostility when she was at quite a severe disadvantage wasn’t what she wanted to face right now, “was the war on my home planet, and how to fight.”

“Huh…” Tab frowned, “Y’speak Common with a very old accent.” Tab toyed with one of their free braids by their ear, “how old are you?”

“Twenty.” Tab hummed, eyes narrowing. Catra’s curiosity caught her. “What?”

“Even as a Catling who hadn’t opened her eyes yet,” Tab frowned gravely, “that timeline makes lil sense.” they ran their fingers over their chin. “Weird.”

“Weird what? What doesn’t make sense?” Catra hissed.

Tab’s blue eyes glowed. “If records are to be believed, the last ship that Queen C’yra Diriluth the Second sent out before the Eternians came and ‘helped’ us with our Horde problem was twenty-three years ago. We lost contact with it, sure — but you’re just twenty. That’s three years off.” Tab sighed. “Were there really no other Therans with you?”

“I’ve never heard of ‘Therans’ before now.” Catra sighed, pulling an arm close to her body and avoiding eye contact. “I was the only person who was…” Catra gestured awkwardly to her ears, “in the Fright Zone. Didn’t find anyone like that in the Crimson Waste either. Wouldn’t be too surprised if I was the only one on Etheria.” She looked back to Tab, letting some of her curiosity finally show. “This is the first time I’ve ever met other people who looked like me. Didn’t think that was possible.”

“Hoo boy.” Tab scratched the back of their neck. “Definitely more than possible. We’re out there, but in spurts. Everyone remainin’ on the homeland died or got chipped.”

“Chipped?” Catra shivered, inadvertently touching the back of her own neck. “Okay, how about we start with basics. What the heck is a Theran?”

“Descendants of Magicats and Qadlings. Our ancestors are believed to be the oldest Shifter Species ever known.” Tabby began. “Hume think Shifters are more animals than people, though, so be aware.” They chuckled when Catra hissed. “We all hate that, but you’ll have to get used to it. Hume are everywhere. We aren’t.” Tab sighed. “Not anymore.”

“Well,” Catra grumbled, looking away from Tab, “it seems you use some of the same terms. Isn’t that kind of admitting they were right?”

“You’ve got it flipped.” Tab smirked. “Hume stole our terms for their animals.” Tab’s tail flicked. “We‘re highly intelligent. Stronger than them. Perhaps they feel threatened?” 

Catra frowned at that, not sure how to engage. “Why do you believe I’m a Theran?”

“Qadlings and Magicats both existed during the early days of the Horde-Eternian war. Half Moon fell, the survivin’ Magicats went to Qad. They had kids with Qadlings, then those kids had kids, then those kids hooked up to...” Tabby gestured with a roll of the wrist. “Y’get the point.”

“You couldn’t tell who was who anymore?”  
“Sort of. Qad fell too. Then it didn’t matter. We were all Therans.” Tab surmised.

“That doesn’t explain how you know I’m one of you, even if you think I’m from a lost ship.” Catra followed the logic but found only unanswered questions. “Which you also said was sent out twenty-three years ago.” Catra pressed. Tab nodded. “I was never with anyone who was like me, for all you know I could have been made in a Horde lab.”

“Like one of his clones, huh?” Tab tilted their head, then sniffed loudly. “Nah.”  
“What?” Catra bristled. “How can you be so sure?”

“Prime’s too much up his own ass to clone anythin’ but himself.” Tab gave a toothy smile, “Look, I don’t get the logic of it. I leave that stuff to smarter people like Mal and Mog, but my nose never lies to me.” Tab wiggled their nose to make a point. “y’smell strange, sure. Magic and Horde Prime together — that’s a mix I never thought I’d meet. But y’very much a Theran beneath it all.”

“Okay…” Catra balked, then sniffed her arm, then turned back to an all too amused Tab who chuckled, “that’s really gonna weird me out for a while.”

“Not sayin’ y’stink. We can just tell. Consider it a perk. You’ll learn to tune it out or listen when y’want. Someone like Mal’s very good to have around for learnin’ such skills.” Tab’s smile softened. “Just don’t blame her too much.”

“Does Mal usually handle physical disputes?” Catra was gleaning. Tabby hummed, curious as they began wiggling their toes.

“Nah. She’s probably, technically, the worst at it. Y’want to know our hitter? Old man Tom.”

“Why would you volunteer that information?”  
“You won’t be able to do a darn thing with it.” Tab grinned.  
“Even if I gave that information to someone who could use it against you?”

Tab threw their head back and laughed. “Firstly, anyone who hires us knows how our lil group functions, and they know we’re damn good. Secondly, you’re out of your league.” The captain tapped their fingers on the back of their chair, grinning.

“You think I couldn’t handle you?” Catra smirked. “There’s what? Just four of you?”

“Don’t play, Kitten.” Tab warned softly, “we did you a solid cause you’re one of us. Rest of the ‘Verse would slit your throat and dump the body. Dumb to bite the hand.”

“I’ve dealt with high stakes.” Catra shrugged, false bravado kicking in. “I fought in a war since I was a kid,” Catra countered, “had kingdoms on their knees in months. I took over the desert in days. What could someone like you throw at me that I haven’t already seen and couldn’t beat?”

“Ah.” Tab appraised her silently. “Were you the good guy or the bad guy?”  
“I was…” Catra trailed off, looking into her lap.  
“See, if it’s like Panthera, good guys have their highty tighty honour codes, right?”  
Catra huffed. “The Princesses didn’t let themselves do a lot of things. Made it easier.”

“Honour is suicide out here. Listen, you’re a guest on my boat. Deal with it.” Tab dismissed. Catra glared at them.

“And if I don’t want to?” She challenged Tab.

“Your prerogative, though if I may offer some advice,” Tab hummed pleasantly, a hint of a smile on their lips. “don’t bother showin’ your fangs until y’know how long your enemy’s claws are.”

Catra raised a single eyebrow at the Captain. “This is coming from the person who just said honour gets you killed? How did you survive this long?”

“How many Princesses did y’kill?” Tab smirked.  
“The armies I led took cities and kingdoms~”

“How many did you kill with yourself?” Tab asked again. Catra hesitated. “None?”  
“I’m...probably responsible for a few deaths at least.” Catra admitted softly.  
“Sure y’are. Ain’t the same as killin’ them personally, though.”  
“And what would you know about that?”

“Plenty.” Tab leaned back. “Y’talk big, but you’re no cutthroat, Force Captain.”  
Catra growled. “How did you know I was a Force Captain?”

“The badge.” Tab noted. “Horde leadership on some planet we don’t know about? Etheria, right?” Tab’s eyes lit up menacingly. “How interestin’,I’ll get Mal on that.”

“Damn it.” Catra growled. “You were just pumping me for information!” So much for withholding what she could in order to get the upper hand. Tab simply shrugged.

“You’ve been through hell, I’m sure,” Tab hummed, “but you’re just another used and abused kid. Your type don’t last long out here without help, however, you’re good at pushing it away.”

“Why should I even try to trust you?” Hackles raising, she could feel the chains straining as she pulled at them. Tab even leaned backwards as if expecting her to break them.

“You take a leap of faith.” Tab stared her down. “We noticed the chip on the back of your neck.” 

Catra’s hand immediately went to the back of her neck and she growled. “Yeah, what’s it to you freaks?” Her fingernails caught the edge of it and she started pulling at it instinctively. It stung enough that she had to stop.

“Green eyes. A chip on the neck.” Tab straightened up and tapped their chin. “Many Therans were experimented on by the Horde. If y’only got chipped, you usually ended up fine, but he wanted more from our bodies.”

“Were? More?” Catra echoed as she stared them down. “Did they die?”  
“The lucky ones.” Tab gave a toothy grin. “If y’could be resuscitated, life was hell...”

Catra frowned as she rubbed her neck again. Her mind took her back to that table for a brief moment and she felt herself go rigid. It suddenly made sense then. Why Horde Prime had called her his first successful patient to undergo his ‘upgrades’ operation and live. She shuddered at the thought, being brought back to the present by Tab enthusiastically waving their arms in front of Catra’s face.

She gasped for air, then looked to the captain. “What?”  
“You okay, kid?” Tab asked gently.

“Just fine.” Catra sulked, but she began tugging hard at the restraints, wanting the feeling of something around her wrists to just disappear. “So you figured out Horde Prime experimented on me and turned me into some sort of mutant freak. Congrats!”

“None of us judge you.” Tab spoke soothingly. “We get it.” Catra found herself watching the Captain even more intently as they spoke. “Eternians stole our magic. Prime stole our lives. Our very Queen stole our families.” Tab sighed rubbing the back of their neck. “Lot of us found ourselves in shit places. Had to crawl from them. Moggie, Tomas, Grima, and I just happened to find each other. Realized we could all live together without slittin’ throats. Y’didn’t get that lucky...” Tab looked at Catra, “to be with other Therans. To know the trauma that runs through our blood, and the resilience and defiance. But y’could have that now if you’d like. With us.”

Catra watched the captain go silent. She snorted. “What, like friends?”

“This crew we’re…” Tab looked at their tattooed arm and smiled. “More than that. In our culture a bigger group as close as ours would be called a Colony. We’re lil though, so we’re more of a…” Tab stopped for a beat, “Clowder.”

“So you’re like family?”

“Hmm, that has a rather nice ring to it.” Tab agreed. “Look, four is an adequate number but we were never opposed to addin’.”

“You really are pushing for me to join you?” Catra smirked.  
“I am.” Tab smiled disarmingly. “Y’remind me of someone.”  
“You want me that badly?”

“Not in an inappropriate way!” Catra was surprised to see the captain suddenly not on top of the conversation anymore. They blushed, then looked at their tattooed arm.

“Really?” Catra tensed, her neck grew stiff. she paused, swallowing hard as she found the words, “Should I be concerned?”

“None of us on the ship would do that!” Tab’s face continued to flush but with anger— no. Frustration? “Ever.” Horror. The captain covered their tattoo with their hand, their claws extending, threatening to break their own skin.

“I…” Catra looked away from Tab’s intensity, “I was just kidding.” She excused.

“It’s fine. Just…” Tab stumbled over their words, “Some of us have been in the Dens. That sort of thing messes with you bad, Kitten.” Tab shook their head to dismiss the thought and smiled gently. “I have a hunch, though. You’ll fit in well here.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Contrary to Grima’s belief of their ridiculousness, my hunches are rarely wrong!” Tab grinned boastfully. “We Theran survivors just get each other in a way others can’t.”

“You expect me to believe that? You don’t even know me!”

Tab slowly stood up, and walked over to Catra who backed away until her restraints held her. She held her breath then as Tab reached about her and began undoing the restraints. Catra felt her wrists sting at their removal, and then found herself staring deep into blue eyes as she was flooded with the relief to be free.

“Listen.” Tab commanded, “I won’t tell you what to do. We can drop you off as soon as we’re planet side if that’s what y’want. Simple as that. Y’can make your own way. It’ll be tough though, I can tell y’have no experience with the ‘Verse and it WILL chew you up and spit you out.” Catra spat in the Captain’s face and Tab calmly wiped it away as they backed up a few paces.

“My entire life’s been tough. I don’t need your charity. I can do fine by myself.”

“This is a different beast, kid. You were on a tiny ass planet.” Tab held up two fingers showing minimal space between them, “This is the ‘Verse.” Then they spread both arms wide. “It’s gonna be quite the culture shock, and not havin’ anyone in your corner is really, really gonna suck. Take it from someone who did it.” Tab stressed, arms returning to their side “I’m offerin’ people who will be in y’corner. You’re welcome to refuse and go on your way alone. I’ll make sure y’have supplies and rations. Even meat — if the other three don’t bitch too much about it.”

“I’d rather take this boat from you and fly home by myself!”

A toothy grin met her as Tab retreated to their chair. “You’d die.” They declared simply, “but you’re welcome to try. Here.” Tab reached for their gun and placed it on the chair, then stepped in front of it and kicked the chair behind them. They spread both arms wide and lifted their chin, exposing their neck. The hem of Tab’s shirt lifted and Catra noticed that twisted scar that started at their shoulder ended at their opposite hip. “I’ll even let y’have the first strike.”

Catra hesitated, guarded, waiting to see if her movement would trigger Tab to attack first, but the Theran before her didn’t so much as move a toe, leaving themselves exposed. Hell, if she wanted to, right now, Catra could claw the Captain’s throat out. Or if she transformed, rip it out and have it be done within one motion. Tab even lifted their head to make it an easy reach. It was disturbing.

“You’re either overly confident,” Catra admitted quietly, her eyes wandering along the length of the scar she could see, “terrifyingly strong,” Catra paused, “Or crazy.”

“Wouldn’t y’like to find out?” Tab taunted, tail dancing behind them.  
Catra curled her hand, tensing, then relaxed. “I’ll pass.”

“Wise choice, borin’” a pause, “but wise.” Tab’s arms flopped back to their side. “I’ll see what I can do to convince the others to take you to Etheria. Might have to take some detours though. Supplies don’t buy themselves and money doesn’t just appear when y’want it.” Tab paused, “If y’change your mind though...”

With that, Tab pulled away and then unlocked the door to the cage and Melog found her way to Catra’s lap, snuggling against her, and watching warily.

“Why are you doing this?”

“I wanna take a chance on you, Kitten.” Tab stood in the doorway, looking up at the ceiling, “just like someone did for me a long time ago.”

Catra stared at her lap as she pet Melog and then nodded. “It’s Catra.”

Tab’s smile seemed soft. Genuine and yet reserved. “Pleasure meeting you, Catra.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tab's kind of one of the most laid back member of the group. They're fun to write for. Especially since they're meant to balance out one of the other personalities in the crew out specifically.


	5. “We’re rough around the edges, but none of us are complete monsters, okay?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra gets to know the crew a little better.

Catra,

I had a dream again. It was...a wonderful one.

We were in Brightmoon, and I was just admiring a moment to just breathe to celebrate. Then you came in with Glimmer on your heels. You tried to hide behind me because she was trying to brush your unruly hair. Glimmer was stressing out about being late and Bow, he was there too.

We were headed to the Fright Zone for the Princess Ball, and you were coming with all of us.

I’ve...never really thought about something like that. All this time it was ‘Conquer Etheria’ then it became ‘save Etheria’ and now it seems we did and I find myself perpetually asking ‘now what’ what do I do? What should I do?

You looked really beautiful in that dream. Is it...wrong that I want it to come true so badly?

**

Catra woke up in a daze, her body feeling warm, and when she looked she found Melog on top of her, nuzzling against her chin. She scratched under her chin, and then bolted upright when there was a knock at the door.

“Rise and shine everybody!”

Melog growled, flashed red and leapt through the door, and there was a loud scream that emanated. It seemed to be from the man called Mog. Catra rubbed at her eyes as she stood up and took a peak at the doorway to find the young Theran with his hands out, grappling Melog at the shoulder blades as they rolled about on the ground, tossing his head this way and that to avoid being bitten.

“See! SEE!” He was screaming, “I told you this was a two person job damn it! Mal! Tom! Somebody! Help!”

A few moments later a towering figure approached. Dark grey hair, light skin, those same ears and claws but a short stub of a tail. He had gentle grey eyes. Catra was startled: he was both incredibly tall — much taller than Mog, and built heavily, but yet he moved so quietly that Catra didn’t realize someone was there until he entered her line of sight, and she caught sight of the bright green of his tank top. He fidgeted with a leather choker on his neck — so much like the one Mal wore — as he examined the scene. Determining there was no threat, he snorted with laughter and his fidgeting stopped. Then he looked at Catra and waved.

“Well, it’s the fresh meat!” His ears wiggled and he smiled one of the most gentle smiles Catra had ever seen, his face deeply lined with scars and wrinkles alike. “Hey kid!” He scratched at his chest and when his hand pulled away, Catra noticed a neat, white almost script like scar just below his left clavicle. It looked like some sort of burn. “Welcome!”

“Tom! How the hell did you get here before Mal? The Med Bay is right over the freaking cargo storage! Aah! Get this thing OFF OF ME!”

“Sorry Moggie,” Tom stooped down at the scene, and petted Mog’s blue mop of hair, gingerly avoiding his eye patch. Mog almost bit his hand in frustration, “but your Princess was in another castle.”

“Of course she freaking was!” Mog hissed, then turned his head to avoid another bite from Melog. “Claudine! Help!”

“You know Claudine hates your guts, right?” Tom stood up, and chuckled. Then he whistled and Catra could hear the floor above her shake as the pink lion came clamouring down.With the situation being much calmer, Catra could get a better look at the lion: it’s mane was a deeper pink than it’s fur, its eyes were golden, it’s left back paw looked strangely mechanical, and it's right forepaw had mechanical toes and claws. “Now girl,” Tom petted Claudine’s mane, “be nice to the kid’s friend, okay? If you are, I’ll make sure Mal gives you extra treats tonight!”

Claudine practically purred as she sauntered over to Melog, calmly swatted the large cat off of Mog, and then escorted Melog away by the scruff of the neck. Mog sat up, dishevelled, disgruntled and annoyed.

Catra laughed. She didn’t know why but the sight of a huffing Mog proceeding to then straighten out his messed up blue faux hawk of hair seemed even more ridiculous and had Catra almost in stitches. The two men with her paused. Tom had the gentlest of smiles and Mog looked at her as if she was ethereal. He smiled too, then brushed himself off and ran a hand through his messy hair to pull it back out of his face more.

“Moggie Blue!” He offered a hand to Catra, which she took. He shook it wildly.  
“C-Catra.”  
“That’s such a cuuute name!”

“Don’t try so hard Moggie.” The bigger of the men clapped a large hand over Mog’s shoulder. “Unless you want to lose the other eye?” He watched the younger man straighten up and turn away, flustered and blushing hard. Tom removed his hand and simply nodded to Catra. “Tomcat Maine.”

“We like to stick to calling him Tomas, though.” Mog informed, looking skittish and uncomfortable as he uttered the words.“Tomcat…” Mog winced, “isn’t really a name.”

“I know why Mal gets bent out of shape over that but you and Tab, really?” Tom chuckled, “You know I’m not fussy.” Tom brushed off, “It’s what I was. The Dens took my name years ago, and I’m okay without reclaiming the old or claiming a new. I know that doesn’t work for everyone.” He bobbed his head. “Pleasure to have you, Catra.”

“What makes you think I’m staying?” Catra shot back, propping a hand on her hip as she looked him over. If she were to try to take over the ship — Tab wasn’t kidding. He was big. Huge, imposing and therefore would probably be one of the hardest to beat. The most disturbing thing was that all of this bulk could move near you without you ever hearing it. He might be one to watch for, but the old man’s simple shrug and unwaveringly gentle smile made him seem disarmingly passive.

“No reason.” He stressed. “Tab just told me about the going ons. I trust the Captain’s gut feeling. Especially if Mal hasn’t gutted them for this decision yet.” 

“Was that a...pun?” Catra stared at the man who gave a cheeky grin.

“Let’s just say the old man here is the Dad of this little...Clowder of ours,” Mog snorted, “he’s taken every opportunity to say every bad joke in the book.”

“It’s a talent.” Tom tipped an imaginary hat.  
“Really,” Mog shook his head, “it isn’t.”

Catra stood there, awkward and uncertain as she looked to Melog who was now curiously being groomed by the pink lion and looking equally as disturbed. She stepped out of the room.

“So, tour?” Mog was beside her and he pointed to where she was facing, “that’s the loading dock. Where you were is one of our little locked storage areas. We don’t use it much so it kinda sorta made a good…”

“Holding cell.” Catra deduced. Moggie looked uncomfortable.

“Yeah, sorry. We weren’t sure what to do with you, so we stuck you in there. But since the Captain’s made their decision, we’ll be giving you a room of your own.” Mog explained simply as he began walking and leading her through the ship. “The other little door takes you below this deck to our sanitation deck, refrigeration and freezer storage, but on the other parts we got storage. To your left leads to the engine bay. The other side leads to our workshop and hangar.” He led her up the metal grate stairs and Catra could feel the vibrations of Mog as he got several paces ahead of her, but not Tom who was just behind. It was both weird and unsettling.

She felt somewhat disoriented when they ended up on another part of the ship.

“Living quarters. We got some monitors, a few games, couches, some darts, the room over there is our little gym. Super tiny. Only three of us can comfortably work out there at once. By the way, don’t do that when it’s time to sleep or someone will murder you.”

“By ‘someone’ you mean Mal?” Catra pieced together.

“Aw! You’re a quick learner!” Mog grinned. “Yeah, she can be a bitch. Just don’t ever call her that to her face? She super hates it. Also, the gym’s kinda over her room.”

“Greaaat.” Catra looked over to Tom who shrugged. 

“The five hatches you see? Those are the crew rooms. Not sure how we lucked out when the Captain bought this ship, but boy are they roomy.” Mog proclaimed, reaching out to put an arm around Catra. She flinched away and heard Tom make a strange coughing sound and Mog quickly backed away.

“Where was I?”  
Catra raised an eyebrow. “You were talking about the rooms?”

“Right! You can fit two very comfortably in each. Three is very manageable and still rather roomy. Max capacity in each crew room is four though unless hot bunking. We do have a few guest rooms as well. As there’s five of us now and there is a really nice Captain’s Quarters just off of the galley, everyone gets their own space. The two rooms closest to the kitchen are open. The one closest to the Medbay is Mal’s, when she actually decides to sleep.” Catra nodded at that and Mog smiled.

“Enough of the boring stuff though, here’s the most important part! It’s our pride and joy!” He brought her through another cat walk and Catra inhaled and was taken aback by all of the gleaming bright wares around them. A large gas stove with a large pot on it quietly simmering away. A carefully organized knife block that seemed bolted down to the counter. Cabinets that latched firmly, which Tom, as he walked past, opened, and a large table. The kitchen was generous even though the ship itself didn’t seem all that big.

Then there was the table. It easily could sit twelve, and it was made of a blue material that Catra quickly realized was some sort of wood. Sitting at the head of the table was a particular black haired, golden eyed Theran quietly sipping from a clear magenta glass in her long sleeves and asymmetrical gloves. The leather jacket she had worn yesterday was gone. She paused when she saw Catra, her gleaming eyes landing thoughtfully. She propped her elbow on the table, her hand curling into a loose fist that covered her mouth.

“Morning.” Mal seemed playful. Mog blinked, then looked behind her, then looked to Catra, then looked to Tom.

“Hello Malkin,” Tom brushed past her playfully as he went back to the stove top, “how is my favourite queen?” He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. Mal purred.

“Careful Tomas,” Mal spoke breathlessly, “I might think you’re getting fresh.”  
“Now Mal,” He winked, his voice a stage whisper, “not in front of the children.” 

“But an audience does make things thrilling.” They seemed to be indulging in a private joke, Catra noted, and there was something almost calming at seeing that level of familiarity between them and she vaguely wondered how common this was among Therans in general. She watched Tom bring Mal’s hand close to his nose, and noticeably taking a sniff. It was...weird.

“Just making sure your claws aren’t bloody, Malkin, dear.” Tom smirked.  
“Our captain is very much alive.” Mal pulled her hand away, almost annoyed. “Sadly.”  
“Really?” Tom withdrew, sensing by how Mal’s tail coiled not to push the issue.  
“Whether I will regret letting Tab win,” Mal’s eyes found Catra, “remains to be seen.”

“Ah, so you had restraint. A queen after my own heart.” Tom goaded, “stop dodging.”

“Dodging what?” Mal played coy.  
“How are you doing, Mal? Seriously.”

Mal stared at him and reached for the cup in front of her, finishing her water while not breaking eye contact. “I’m no longer thirsty.” Mal drawled the words, eyes flicking over to Catra again. “Absolutely famished though.” Catra shivered.

“Food will be coming shortly, no need to eat our new Kitten alive.” Tom chuckled.   
“Aw. But I like fresh meat.” Mal pouted comically. It was a joke. Catra released her held breath.  
“I take it we’ll be seeing Tab eventually?” Tom called over a shoulder.

Mal moved her hand as she dug into the breast pocket of her shirt. “Eventually.” She echoed coquettishly, then pulled the item in it and slid it over to Catra. “Here.”

“What’s this?”

Mal hummed softly. “You’re SO nervous.” Mal crunched down on an ice cube, “I don’t want our new kitten pissing on our floor.” she explained. “It's tea. A medicinal herbal blend with mild sedative effects. It’ll help you mellow out, or fall asleep.”

Catra took the package and opened to find several satchels in it. She gave it an experimental sniff, and watched as Mog sat to Mal’s left, whispering to her. Catra went back to sniffing it, and watching Mal.

“How do I know it’s not poison?” Catra raised a concerned eyebrow. A hand slamming the table made Catra jump, and her eyes widened as they fell on Mal’s clenched fist.

“I don’t shit in my own backyard, Kitty.” Mal hissed flippantly.  
“Kitty?”  
“You’re young. Makes you cute and stupid, sure, but ‘Kitten’ is too much credit.”  
“I’m not cute!” Catra hissed.   
“So you are stupid?”   
“I’m not stupid either! I have a name! It’s Catra!”  
“Sure thing, Kitty.”

“Look Mal, maybe try not to be so...?” Mog tried to interject “Well. You?” That earned a snort.  
“Thanks. Tab and I had a discussion.” Mal’s expression turned severe. “They got me to agre~”  
“Oh,” came Mog’s quip, “that’s what you’re calling your aggressive sparring now?”

“Shut up Mog — The Captain got me to agree to not throwing you,” Mal pointed to herself and then to Catra, “out of the bloody airlock, Kitty, okay?” Catra wasn’t sure if she was supposed to feel comforted.

“Am I supposed to thank you?” Catra attacked instead. “When someone else has to literally hold your reins since you have no self control?” Catra growled. “If you ask me, all you’ve done is make yourself sound like some sort of rabid dog.”

“Look!” Mal threw her hands up, eyes flashing with fury, “you can do whatever the hell you want as long as it doesn’t endanger, hurt, or screw over the rest of the crew! That’s the only freaking rule around here, kid, and you can bet your ass there will be hell to pay if you break it!” She slammed both palms on the table and stood to stare Catra down. “Got it?”

“The…’rest’ of the crew?” 

“Yes Kitty. Captain wants me to treat you as part of the crew.” Mal rolled her eyes. “So I will.”  
“You don’t exactly seem happy about it.”

“I don’t get to make those calls.” Mal snapped back, huffing. “Captain’s keen on you being one of us, for some dumbass reason, but you haven’t earned jack shit around here.”

Catra felt her face heat up at that. “I’m aware.”

“Good.” Mal’s golden eyes widened frighteningly, “because if you step out of line, I swear to Lynx, I will come for you, and Tab won’t be able to stop me. Understood?”

A low, seething growl slipped from Catra’s throat, but it was met with an even lower and more menacing growl from Mal herself, as she leaned forward, towering over Catra’s much shorter form. Catra stopped, ears drooping. “So you’re not the muscle. Or the one calling the shots. You’re the enforcer.” And an enforcer was only good at their job if they had something over everyone else. Catra made a mental note. Mal’s eyebrows rose with a brief display of surprise.

“Maybe you’re not as stupid as I thought?” Mal hummed, “Now,” a sigh slipped. “My first order of business is making sure you and your pet aren’t gonna get sick.” She scoffed. “Step one is getting you to mellow the hell out.” She sat back down, the fight was gone from her almost as soon as it appeared. “We’re rough around the edges, but none of us are complete monsters, okay?” 

“Thanks.” Catra flushed and held up one of the satchels, taking another sniff. There was a complex set of aromas in the little packet, but just from smelling the dried herbs she could feel a sense of calm creeping and instantly understood. The application of whatever was in here was medicinal, and judging by the quality, expertly blended. Catra watched as Mal rose from her seat and reached for something behind the pot Tom was cooking in. A copper kettle rested in her asymmetrically gloved hands and she reached around Tom for a cup and pulled out a red one. She then sidled up beside Catra and all Catra could notice was the scent of something minty on Mal’s body as she poured a cup of steaming water.

“Everyone has a favourite cup.” Mal’s voice was very gentle and soft. “Mog’s is the green one with the handle. Tom’s is the yellow one with the weird shape to it. The matching black set are Tab’s. You’re welcome to claim any of the others.”

“Which one of the cups are yours?” Catra asked curiously. Just as curiously — she got a shrug from Mal. “You don’t have one?”

“I hate tea.” Mal relented and answered. “I usually only drink it for medicinal reasons.”

Catra looked at the hot water placed in front of her, and upon noticing Mal’s intense watching, she quietly pulled one of the tea satchels and placed it in the water, noticing something floral hitting her nose as she did. She gave it an experimental sniff and then took a swig of it before placing it down abruptly, and swallowing it quick, then scratching at her throat as the liquid burned its way down her esophagus.

“HOT!”

“Could have told you that!” Mog snickered. Catra swore she saw a gentle smile pull at Mal’s lips before she shook her head.

“Idiocy can’t be helped around here, I suppose, right Mog?”  
“Right...wait! Hey!”  
“I just hope it isn’t contagious.”

“Alright, ladies and gent! Quiet down! Dinner is being served!” Tom declared as he placed bowls in front of them. “Green bell peppers and beef!”

Mog looked at his bowl, at first excited, but then the light in his green eyes dimmed as he sniffed it. “Wait!” He pouted. “There’s no beef again, man!” Catra sniffed at it too, then began digging at it with her spoon. Her tongue was still numb from burning but it was delicious. “How can you call this crap ‘Green Bell Peppers and Beef” when there’s no BEEF!” 

“We have no money for real meat every meal. If you want that, then we need to be planet side WAY more often.” Tom grumbled to Mog. Mog huffed and turned to Mal who shrugged. Catra continued eating her bowl of food as she watched the other three silently. 

“What?” Mal was running a finger along the rim of her empty glass. Catra pretended to be a fly on the wall. “Oh, so this is my fault for not having us pick up more jobs?”

“You’re the one who’s usually in charge of navigating us to port.” Mog grumbled.

“Until a couple of months ago, Horde Prime was gleefully finishing a Verse wide conquest, remember?” Mal retorted as she rose from her seat and began milling around. “Planet side was the most dangerous place to be, or were you itching to be a mind controlled zombie again?” 

Catra’s eyes widened. She turned to Mog, who’s tail grew bushy as he sat up tall and rigid, ready to pounce in a moment. “That was low.” 

“But true.” Mal snuffed, ignoring Mog’s warning growl. “Though I bet it didn’t make much of a difference in your case.”

“I don’t think you have much of a leg to stand on, oh sweet Lioness Nine.” Mog was on his feet now. Mal’s expression froze into a strained smile but her jaw locked as a hand drifted to her left clavicle. Catra looked to the both of them, then to Tom, letting a hand covering the back of her neck as she watched all of them.

“Maybe not,” Mal’s smile was menacing as she reached to the small of her back, and Catra noticed a blade handle there of a dagger, felt a slight chill down her spine and then this inexplicable sense of tension and rage. Her eyes fixed to Mog’s throat. “but even if I was in heat and you were the last Theran male in the ‘verse I’d rather~”

“Foul.” Tom called, “drop it, both of you, before you come to claws.” He demanded, “Especially you Mal, you’re slipping damn it!”

Mal’s stance relaxed, her hand moved from her dagger. “Sorry. Even Tab’s gonna be grumpy.”

“We’ll get over it just,” Tom grumbled, “have some bloody tact!” He gestured to Catra who shrank even more at being pointed out and went back to her food. Mal sighed and pushed past Tom to get to the fridge, making him hiss. “What are you even looking for?”

“Liquor. Tell me we still have some?” Mal sighed. Mog went back to grumbling about his food, so when Catra finished her bowl and looked at his, he begrudgingly sighed and shoved it in front of her. Catra smirked and dug in before he could protest.

“I don’t know how you’re eating that crap.” Mog hissed. “Textured protein is nothing like real meat. It’s awful and gross and only barely edible because Tom’s a wizard.”

“Still,” Catra paused mid bite to swallow and wipe her mouth with the back of her hand, “tastes better than ration bars.” Mog looked at her, raising a single eyebrow.

“By Lynx.” Mog’s smile widened, “Do you mean the grey ones or the brown ones?”  
Catra stared at him for a moment, then smiled shyly. “The blue ones especially.”  
“Pfft. Yeah. Those were especially awful. Texture and flavour.” Mog grinned.  
“If you can complain, you’re not hungry enough.” Catra added.

“Well said, kid. Speaking of,” Tom agreed, his gaze turning back to the crouched form of Mal. She was angled weirdly, as though she was placing all her weight on her right leg and holding Tom by the waist of his pants for balance, to which he protested. “I thought you said you were no longer thirsty? Go back and eat, would you?”

Mal emerged with a bottle of amber liquid, eyebrows raised. “Did I say that?” She cracked it open and put it to her lips, and tugged at Tom’s waistband to pull herself back up to a standing position. “Well, alcohol is a very different kind of thirst, and Mog just made me lose my appetite.”

“Screw you Mal!” Mog hissed.

“Mal!” Tom smacked his forehead. “That bottle is an anniversary present!”

“Take it up with the DH, would you?” She didn’t sound sorry. “Anyways, I’ll be in the med bay.” 

“Drowning your sorrows?” Mog hissed after her.

Mal shoved him as she brushed past, the hostility ending when she made sure to be out of arm’s reach before Mog could react. “Hey Kitty, I know a lot about the Horde experiments on Therans. Whenever you’re comfortable, feel free to pop by.” She began down the catwalk, an extra sway to her step as she swung her hips, her tail mirroring the rhythm.

“Oh,” Mal called over a shoulder, “feel free to have my bowl too, Kitty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of an OC heavy chapter to establish the crew's relationships to each other and Catra.   
> It seems Mal has a bit of an antagonistic relationship with Catra ^_^.


	6. “Sorry Kitten, but even without that damn chip, you’re still stuck with what he did forever.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of Catra's fears catches up to her in her sleep. Unfortunately, Mal’s cryptic nature makes her more frustrating than helpful.  
> The Best Friend Squad look for Catra in Despondos and instead find the ruins left on Etheria's former moon.  
> Catra learns Tab isn't above keeping secrets, and Mal isn't the only one who withholds information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that we are settling into knowing the crew more, it's time to send the other cannon characters into a trajectory where they're going to collide soon!
> 
> We're going to be seeing a LOT more of the BFS from here on out.  
> Other MOTU characters are going to start trickling in soon too. Perhaps even a Prince?

Catra,

I wonder how you’re holding up?

Part of me wonders if the portal sent you to the same place Angella is trapped in. If that’s the case, that would be great if we could save her and you at once.

Mostly, what I don’t want is for you to be alone.  
Even when we were small, I know you hated it whenever you ended up alone.

Well, today is the day.

Whatever the situation is, we’re going to find you. Mara’s ship is ready. Entrapta is sure we have the last coordinates your device was set to. We’ll find you, we’ll get you back home because we miss you. I miss you. Whatever you’re facing now, after all of this? We’ll just have to take it from there. One step at a time, together.

With care,  
Adora.

*

Catra awoke on that all too soft bed again. She blinked, long and slow, but her spine stiffened when she caught sight of blonde hair, of those blue eyes with such a longing look in them. A hopeful look.

“So you came back for me.” She murmured. Adora’s smile was strained. “Why?”

“Because you’re Catra.” Adora explained away gently. “You’re the girl I grew up with. The person I…” Adora shook her head. “Do I need any other reason?”

“After everything I did?”

Adora sighed, looking out to the window, and Catra followed her gaze to the skyline, then froze. This was...Mystacor. But Mystacor had fallen. Shadow Weaver with it. A cold tingling sensation clawed painfully at her spine, at the base of her head. She could feel a headache creeping in.

“You saved Glimmer.” Adora let her head fall forward as she spoke the words, “I can’t begin to tell you how much that means to me. She’s like family to me.”

Before, when this scene played out, Catra kept her thoughts to herself, but now, with it playing in front of her again, she couldn’t help it.

“And what am I?”

“Just another piece to be used.” That voice, it was chilling and controlled, and Catra could feel an ache, like fire, coursing through her body. “Even the most insignificant have their functions in my perfect universe, Little Sister.”

“No. Not you.” Catra looked around, “You’re dead. You’re gone!” Eventually she saw his pale form to her right, eyes glowing in the darkness.

“I must thank you for finding She-Ra for me.” He smiled. “As your reward, I’ll allow you the honour of ending her yourself. Fear not though. You will not be without your beloved Adora for long. I plan on destroying this...Mystacor soon after.” Catra screamed when she found herself on top of an unconscious Adora — her hands still around the blond’s throat as Mystacor lit up with fire. “Goodbye my oldest enemy.”

Catra’s screams echoed back to her in the room. 

She shot up in the too soft bed and looked around finding no windows: just metal joints and dim lights along the edges to help you avoid tripping on them as you went along. Her eyes adjusted to the scenery and she spotted the sink in the very tiny powder room and the ladder. She gasped when she spotted a pair of glowing green eyes staring down at her from the top of the ladder, and she reached for something, anything she could find. She hurled it at the green eyes.

Melog leapt into action, bounding towards the person, and lunging to bite. A loud yell revealed a feminine voice. Catra watched the struggle as the Theran shoved something into Melog’s mouth as Melog tried to keep biting at the intruder. With a blink Catra found the eyes that stared her down were golden, not green.

“Do you mind?” The acerbic tone both cutting and yet casual while in the middle of being attacked could only be one person on the Purrsia. Mal. “Get your pet off me!”

“Melog, down.” Melog made a whining sound, then backed off. 

“Thank Lynx.” Mal hissed, a small square object in hand. A thud of plastic on metal confirmed to Catra that she had thrown the alarm clock that came in the room.

“No one told you to watch me sleep like a creeper.” She felt that inkling of danger again. This was not the first night Mal was here, silently keeping some strange vigil. Catra was beginning to worry about this penchant habit of the dark brooding Theran.

“Your bunkroom is literally beside mine and — wait why am I defending myself? You’re on OUR boat.” Mal interrupted herself, then shook her head, dark ears twitching. “Your screams could literally wake the dead, know that?”

Catra’s eyes fell to her lap. “Sorry, is it interrupting your beauty sleep?”

“I fucking hate Kittens.” Mal murmured under her breath, a hand covering her face. Then, she inhaled sharply, deeply, held it for a moment and finally released it. When she stared at Catra, she seemed calmer, less annoyed. “Look Kitty,” her voice was gentle, soft, nurturing almost, “I’ve noticed those nightmares aren’t getting any better.”

“That’s my business, not yours.”

“Not when you can transform without a shard of the Twilight Topaz.” Mal whispered through clenched teeth. Catra barely caught it, but when her ears twitched with curiosity, Mal switched topics before Catra could press her for answers. “You’ve been here what? Two weeks now?”

“Yes, well when you have a bed this soft, who the hell can sleep?” Catra deflected.

“Definitely not a hard bunk right?” The smallest of smiles pulled at Mal’s lips. “Sleep on one of those long enough and everything else seems a little off.” Mal propped her head in her right hand. “On bad nights, you might find Mog curled up in a small secluded corner on the floor.”

That caught Catra’s surprise. “What does Mog have to do with this?” Catra watched as Mal opened her mouth to explain, then stopped, thinking better of whatever it was she was about to say. “That’s what I thought. You had the nerve to make fun of him being in Horde Prime’s lab. I don’t think you get to talk about what happened to him so lightly.”

“That’s not what I was doing, Kitty,” Mal almost shrank backwards, “I was just trying to show you that you’re not the only one who has gone through terrible things.”

“By sharing other people’s experience?” Catra poised. “What? Don’t tell me you’re concerned about me suddenly?”

“Hardly.” Mal scoffed. “Your screams keep us all up. We’re a small crew so not functioning at our best has ramifications.” Mal dismissed, her scowl deep. “I’m just the only one with the brass tail to tell you that straight up.” Catra curled up on herself at that, and she heard a quiet meow from Melog who quickly curled up by her.

“So you think the solution to that is to talk about how other people have suffered?” Catra challenged. “What, next you’re going to tell me to just get over it, right?” Catra grimaced.

“Of course not, no, it’s never that simple.” Mal's voice was surprisingly soft as she shook her head. The Theran woman shifted to move forward, her hands up in a placating gesture. "I would never, NEVER tell someone to just "get over it" that would be so..." Melog hissed in warning and flashed red. The Theran thought better and settled back on the ladder stairs, trying to make herself as comfortable as she could.

They both fell into silence for a long time before Mal spoke up again.

“Manx has…” the way she said the Captain’s last name was odd. It seemed so much more formal and distant than everyone else, but the softness of Mal’s voice bellied something that implied a strange lack of distance. In fact it sounded incredibly intimate, weirdly, “bad dreams like that too. Nightmares.” Mal murmured. Catra raised her eyes to meet Mal’s, then glared.

“Shouldn’t Tab be telling me about stuff like that?” Catra challenged. 

Mal, from what Catra could tell of how her glowing golden eyes widened, then settled, seemed accosted. “Captain wouldn’t mind.” She backpedalled. 

“How do you know that?” Catra snarled, affronted at Mal’s disregard.

“Manx,” there it was again, the formality with that oddly intimate undertone, “and I -- we have a history. They know me better than anyone,” Mal’s fingers brushed against her neck, against the collar she wore, “and I know them.”

“I got the sense that Tab has seen quite a bit.” Catra curled her toes and began to wiggle them. Petting Melog at her side who meowed incoherently, she canted her head at Mal who got the sentiment. Mal cleared her throat and rubbed at her right knuckles.

“Not wrong.” Mal admitted with a wan smile. “The Captain has had a very challenging life.”

“Quite different from yours, right?” Catra pieced together. “after all, being highly educated in the medical properties of plants and how to prepare them for medicinal use?” Catra smirked when she noticed Mal stiffen. “That’s not something you can just pick up on the streets, is it?”

A small, flash of teeth. “I was the thirteenth of eleven kids. It was the most difficult birth of four in that litter and I even stopped breathing. The sickly runt they didn’t think would make it.”

Catra scoffed. “How does that even work?”

“Twelve and eleven died very young. We were barely three. By four and a half, it was clear that the two of us remaining wouldn't both make it to five. I was the lucky one.” Mal informed, tone flat. “My mother fell in love with a Theran Tom quite different from her own station. The Magus Angora.”

Catra then narrowed her eyes. “A tom?”  
“A male Theran.”  
Tom’s name then tickled at her. “Then a Tomcat is?” Catra followed up.  
“A male Theran who works in a Den. Servicing his customers.” Mal’s tone was flat.  
“Servicing?” Catra asked. Mal looked away quickly. “Oh…”

“Despite my Dad’s status as a commoner he was a Cait Sith, so many looked the other way.”

“A Cait Sith? What makes them special?” Catra knew she had to capitalize on this rare phenomena. Giving information out didn’t seem to be a usual thing for Mal. 

“They are a rare type of Theran, possessing powerful magic, and the ability to see visions.”

“Can you use magic?” Catra followed up. Silently, she watched Mal draw a glowing, looping character, almost like the capital letter “N” but turned sideways, the angles sharper and lines steeper and making it resemble something akin to a lightning bolt. Then, several other runes flashed around it, merging with the first as Mal filled in a circle. Suddenly, several flickering flame like lights went across the room, lighting up the area, and Catra could see Mal better in the light: she was without her leather jacket again. Her sleeves were pushed up on her long shirt, but her hands still bore gloves and above them were close fitting bracers so very little of Mal’s arms could actually be seen. Her shirt was half unbuttoned and her hair mussed. “Neat.” 

“I mostly know parlour tricks, I don't have my father’s talent.” Mal dismissed, “anyways, like my eldest brother, I looked the most like our Dad. So, just like my brother, I was Mom’s favourite, along with his littermates. I was the sickly runt who should have never survived but was the only one out of the litter who did. I was seen as both cursed and lucky.”

Catra’s gaze turned hard. “The favourite, huh?” Mal was silent for a moment, simply trying to read her, Catra sensed. “You got everything you ever wanted then?”

“Except for my littermates living.” Mal’s tone was soft, lacking accusation or anger.  
“Must be nice being the favourite.” Catra frowned, “I feel bad for the rest of your siblings.”

“I’m used to being envied for something, Kitty.” Mal answered noncommittally, propping her head on her fist, “It’s a different kind of hell.” Catra noticed when Mal reached up to adjust her choker, her fingers lingering.

“Why, because you had it easier and you didn't know how to deal with something when it finally knocked you on your ass?”

“No.” Mal snorted. “Because everyone wants to think you have it easy, and there’s never any empathy.” That got Catra to stop before she could send another scoffed comment at Mal’s direction. “My looks. What I’ve been able to learn. Who I am. My power. These are all blessings, sure, but,” Mal paused. “But,” she echoed, her eyes closing, “I’m still on this blasted boat.” 

“Isn’t that self-righteous? To think this ship and everyone on it is below you?” Catra fired back.

Mal’s silence was telling. There was another shoe. Catra could almost see it hanging in the air between them. If her gut was right, Mal was trying to make a different point. Instead she danced around it cryptically, almost as if she couldn’t commit to saying the words. After a long bout of silence, Mal even shook her head, silently conceding her defeat.

“What brought you to this ship?” Catra asked. Mal began climbing -- or was it better to call it clambering -- out of the room.

“Captain wants to see you. They’re on the bridge.”

*

Adora still remembered the first time she went through a portal. It was a bright flash, and everything seemed to disappear to it. Then she woke up with no recollection of anything, in the Fright Zone, where everything seemed just a little too idyllic and perfect. She remembers then hearing Razz’s voice, the sense that something was off. Running off to the whispering woods with Catra in pursuit and the world almost collapsing on itself.

Luckily, there was no such thing here. 

The portal in Dryll hummed with a low vibration that you could feel in your bones. There was nothing sucking them in, rather a small set of stairs they had to walk up. She pushed down the anxiety all the same as she looked to Bow and Glimmer, and then to a nodding Entrapta.

Adora led them, one step, then two, then through the portal, helmet on before she did. She heard Glimmer and Bow come through after her, and heard them both gasp.

“Woah.” Bow spoke, both in awe and excitement, “there’s a whole bunch of ruins!” He began dusting them off while Glimmer drew in the air, her face fixed with concentration in the magenta glow of her magic.

“What are you doing?” Adora asked, frowning.

“There’s magic here, somehow.” Glimmer noted when her simple light spell resulted in several orbs that at first circled around her until she sent them high and further ahead, painting the area in a dim magenta light. “I wasn’t expecting that on one of our former moons.” Broken buildings came into view, along with silver threads of dried vegetation. Bow was looking about, Datapad in hand as she relayed this information to Entrapta.

They wandered through it for some time. Adora wasn’t sure how long, but after they passed the fifth Cat Shaped Statue, she paused. Glimmer did as well, and held her hand up to a wall and her eyes widened.

“Adora, look.” She gestured to the pictures depicting various things. There were people in these drawings -- farming, bowing to one who had a crown. What stood out about all of them though were that they all had large ears and a tail. Their features were distinctly feline in nature.

“They look kind of like…”  
“Like Catra.” Adora finished, her hand raising to touch one of the drawings. “What does it mean? Could this place be where she came from? I mean...no one else on Etheria looks like her.”

“I doubt it.” Glimmer pulled away from the wall, “everything suggests people haven’t been here in decades. Which is strange. What happened to all of them?”

“I’m not sure.” Bow answered from behind them, “but it looks like we’ve got a lot of buildings here. A lot. Judging by the shape of the buildings, it might have been around when Mara was.”

“So an entire Civilization was on Etheria’s Moon in Mara’s time?”

“Seems like it.” Bow frowned as he scoped around, “I wonder what changed that.”  
“Maybe…” Adora frowned, “it was the heart of Etheria going off.”

Glimmer blanched. “You mean it can do this?” She whispered. “Not to dwell on it, but I really shouldn’t have activated it, should I?” Twinned looks of annoyance and frustration from both Adora and Bow told Glimmer all she needed. “I’ll...listen to you guys more next time.”

“We’d appreciate that.” He glanced over his shoulder and caught Glimmer’s eyes. “Can I get a little bit more~” an orb came his way and he beamed at her, “thank you!”

“Guys, we have to focus on finding Catra first. She was injured, remember?” Adora called to task. Bow nodded but it seemed Glimmer was sharing his wavelength today.

“If there are so many ruins, we shouldn’t rule out that any of them might have been disturbed recently.” Glimmer turned to Adora, “Catra’s smart. If she thought these ruins could have anything she could use, then she would have.”

“Hey, Entrapta,” Bow proposed, “can you do a scan to see if there’s been any evidence of man made fires recently?”

“Brilliant! If the temperature dips around here at night, building a fire would be a necessity.”  
“Exactly.” Bow turned to Glimmer and gave her a thumbs up and she nodded before looking to Adora.

“Okay Catra,” Adora murmured, “we’re coming.” She grabbed Glimmer’s hand and teleported to Bow who smiled at them both as he showed them his Datapad.

“So…” he pointed out different highlighted areas so far, “I’m seeing most of them cluster around here, which Entrapta is saying~”

“Where we received a signal from, and where it seems her portal last sent her.”

Bow nodded. “The fact that she made most of her fires around there probably means we should check that area first.”

*

The bridge was an interesting space. Catra had peeked into it once, briefly, but she got the sense that it was very much Tab’s domain: that the Captain was both head of the crew and the Helmsman. It was clear Tab loved piloting. While a few stray comments had led her to believe that Tomas for sure also knew how to maneuver the Purrsia, and Mog had a good grasp of it too, it was also clear that they left that to Tab unless Tab couldn’t do it. Mal on the other hand? She wasn’t as forthcoming, so Catra wasn’t sure if she could fly the ship.

Thus, elements that Catra could only describe as being Tab’s taste littered the cockpit: little figurines of strange fanged creatures. Magazines — mostly of newer space ships, but a few were rather lewd. When Catra caught a glimpse of one of these more questionable reading materials, she blushed redder than her shirt. There were packets of instant noodle meals, and round strange disks Tab called “CDs” which held “music” on them. These ones caught her curiosity the most. Catra didn’t know where the instruments hid, but when Tab placed them into the “CD player”, Catra would hear a live band playing back to her. It was surreal.

Tab hummed along with the music before adjusting the strange metal half collar thing at the back of her neck. There was a click and a sigh, and as Catra took a closer look she shuddered. The collar — she wasn’t sure what it was, only that it was a remnant of Horde Prime’s technology. One that fit into the chip on the back of Tab’s neck perfectly. However, unlike her own chip, there was no green glow. It instead glowed blue like Tab’s eyes for a moment before it turned grey. Tab’s eyes found Catra’s and glowed as they beamed at her.

“Welcome to the bridge! Take a seat my lovely co-pilot!” Tab gestured to the co-pilot chair beside them. Catra blinked in disbelief.

“What?”

“I was thinkin’...we’re gonna be planet side real soon, and you haven’t really made a decision yet have you?”

“No, not really.” Catra admitted, looking around the cockpit. Her eyes found a small square. When she peered at it she saw an image of two people: one was a much younger Tab, Catra thought. A child version of the Theran beside her -- no white hair yet, but the bright blue eyes and wide smile was easily recognizable. Maybe Tab was about six at the time of the photo? The other was a woman. With her dark hair she looked vaguely like Mal, but it was clear by the age and slight spikiness of her hair that she couldn’t be. She had dark brown tufts by her ears and in the sunlight of the photo, her dark hair glowed a reddish brown. Her eyes were also mismatched — gold and blue. “I’m still trying to figure out what to make of you and everyone here.”

“Fair,” Tab’s eyes followed Catra’s glance, “That’s me and Lybica. Pretty, ain’t she?”  
Catra looked over to Tab. “Is she your Mom?”

“Heck no! She’s too young for that. She’s what -- twenty there?” Tab grinned giddily. “She got me out of the Labs twenty-six years ago. I was nine.”

“You look so small…” Catra mentioned.

“Underfed. Only fought for food when I absolutely had to in the labs. I hated the killin’ so I often went hungry.” Tab scratched an ear. “Grima was mentionin’ y’were havin’ some trouble sleepin’?” Tab switched topics quickly.

“Grima?” Tab had said the name a few times now but Catra always found herself wondering. She was pretty sure it could be only one person though.

“Wait!” Tab smacked their forehead. “You’ve been here two weeks, and y’mean to tell me everyone told you their name but her?” Tab sighed. “Who am I kiddin’? Course she’d be obtuse.”

“So her name is…?” Catra prodded.

“Grimalkin. I call her Grima. You’ll catch old man Tom callin’ her Malkin, but usually we just call her Mal. All the same person, for future reference.”

“Great, so she told you about my nightmares.” Catra snorted. “Does everyone know? I mean I’m getting the sense she has no concept of anyone’s privacy around here.”

Tab chuckled. “Well. It’s kind of sort of her business to know everyone else’s business, really.”  
“Great. So if I wet the bed is she going to humiliate me?” Catra rolled her eyes.

“If I told you ‘no’ would you believe me?” A tooth slipped past Tab’s lip.  
“Not if Mal and her chewing me out about screaming in my sleep is to be believed.”

Tab’s ears drooped. “Damn Grima and her lack of tact sometimes.” Tab shook their head. “Look, it’s no big deal, kid. We’re all at various levels of managin’ our shit around here. Even Grima, despite her insistence on keepin’ up appearances.”

“What does she have to sort through?” Catra scoffed. “She seems like she had it pretty made.”  
“You’d be surprised.” Tab frowned, “but that’s not my story to tell.”

Catra weighed the next words in her head carefully before she decided to take the jab. “And yet she was so willing to tell yours.” Tab predictably tensed. Their jaw tightened, their hands on the steering white knuckled their grip. Catra filed that information away. It seemed despite their history together, maybe not everything between them was as tight at Mal presented it to be. “I don’t want to make presumptions, but that doesn’t seem fair of her does it?”

“I get nightmares when I’ve been stressed or thinkin’ too much,” Tab switched gears quickly and unsurprisingly awkwardly, “do you know what mellows me out?” Tab turned to Catra who crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“Pilotin’!” Tab declared, “Hey, Silver Storm, transfer all controls to the co-pilot seat, will ya?” Catra’s eyes widened when Tab grinned and then pushed the joystick on her side hard to the left and the entire vessel veered left. She almost shrieked, only making Tab laugh louder.

There was a loud beep and a button lit up. Tab reached over and hit it, and very loudly over a speaker came a very distinctive, husky voice.

“WHAT THE HELL TAB?”  
“It was an accident!” Tab giggled, “I’m sorry!”

“You will be when you see what you just made me break, dumbass!” Mal groused. Tab’s grin widened, and they reached over Catra and jostled the steering again. Things veered. Two more of those buttons lit up, Tab cackled when they heard a crash from Mal’s side.

“Oops. Dodgin’ some debris.”  
“Screw you.” Came a strained grunt.

“Name when and where, lovely!” There was a silence then, where Tab expected another jab at them but there was only silence. “Mal?” The light on the button went out and Tab frowned, flipping the button “Okay, so she’s in a pretty rank mood today and I totally just went and made it worse. Noted. No more pranks on that part.”

Catra snickered with Tab and looked when those other two lights went out. “So those let me talk to other areas of the ship?”

“Yep-er-roo!” Tab steadied the steering, “I would suggest against any more jostlin’ though. The crew do get rightfully angry if you do that too much. It’s really the sort of joke y’only do once every three or so months.” Tab gently guided Catra’s hands to the steering and guided her through some motions. “This points the nose where it will go. You got left and right. Pushing in goes down, pulling towards you is up, you got it.”

After a few minutes of this, Tab eventually stood up and began stretching, then leaned on Catra’s seat, arms folded on the head rest.

“How am I doing?”

“I almost want to throw y’into an asteroid belt and see how y’manage. You’re so smooth you’re a natural.” Tab gently knocked her shoulder and grinned. 

“I don’t think everyone else would want that.” Catra noted bashfully. Tab fluttered their eye lashes and chuckled. “Okay, Mal especially.”

“Nah, if you do as well as I think y’will, she’ll be worried someone is givin’ her a run for her money. Or worse, beatin’ her. She hates dodgin’ asteroids in the Purrsia. In her personal craft is a different story.”

So Mal did pilot after all. Catra filed that information away, and then asked one of the questions that had been nagging at her. “That tattoo on your arm...and the one Tom has by his collarbone? Is that like a Theran thing?

Tab hummed. “Sort of.”  
“What do they mean?”

Tab’s expression grew guarded. “Tomas’ indicates he is — well was — a Tomcat. It’s more a brand than a tattoo, and it doesn’t come from us it comes from the Eternians.” Catra looked at Tab, almost horrified, and Tab quickly glossed over it to the next one, “This,” their fingers dragged along the tattoo on their own arm and Catra took it in. There was a series of Runes to it, the most prominent being one that looked like a curved ‘V’ with a tail, as if handwritten, “Is a Sigil. In Theran Magic, a Sigil is used as the base of any magic circle a caster makes. It’s personal and unique to them.”

“So you’re a sorcerer?”

“We call them a Mage, or Magus if they’re masters -- and heck no. I just know a few things.” Tab chuckled. “This tattoo here? It’s a Sigil, technically, but really it's a reinterpretation of an existing one.” Tab rubbed their shoulder affectionately. “Theran Mages who come from the same family often have the same basic runes in their Sigil. It’s how they identify each other. I dabble by borrowing someone's Sigil -- you can do that when you’re very emotionally close to the owner. So when I told my wife I didn’t want to do the usual Theran thing, she came up with this.”

“Wait, your wife?” Catra gaped. “You...you’re married?”

“Did I forget to mention that?” Tab scratched the back of their neck. “Mmm. Yeah. Wish the Verse could see how wonderful she is deep down.” Their blue eyes fell to another picture in the cockpit, one Catra couldn’t see clearly from the glare at this angle, but she noticed Tab’s arms were around someone who sat in their lap. “My time in the labs made it that I didn’t like one of the typical Theran marriage symbols, and when I was in the military working with the Prince on helpin’ save kids from the labs, my repulsion to it grew even worse.”

“Why? What’s the usual thing to get when you’re married?”

“Well,” Tab looked flustered, and practically glowed. Catra suspected they were blushing, she could practically sense the heat off Tab’s face, “other than the mating bite….a collar.” Tab’s fingers brushed over their throat. “Somethin’ that close fittin’ feels too much like a manacle.” Tab frowned. “My wife came up with this. We took her Sigil, and she helped me pick runes that represented me to make a ‘Sigil’ of sorts of my own. Then we put them together to make a new Sigil, and that’s what we both got tattooed on our left shoulders.” Tab chuckled, their eyes glowing. “She is quite the stunnin’ lookin’ Theran though, so when she said she wanted a Collar anyways -- to ward off others’ interest -- I gave her one for our anniversary a few years back.” Catra stared dumbfounded, stunned until Tab playfully pushed up on her jaw.

“Don’t catch flies. Also. Debris.”  
“What?”  
“Starboard. Go left or you’ll hit the debris!”

“Aaah!” Catra turned a little too hard to the left and saw three lights on the console light up. Tab left them untouched, sighing with relief as they went back to their own chair, picking up a familiar black leather jacket and putting it over their shoulders.

“Anythin’ else you’d like to know?  
“What’s that thing you had on earlier?” 

Tab hummed softly. “A Dummy Plug. Thank Mog for that little invention. When we realized we had too many experiments done to us and had the chips on for too long that they fused to our nervous systems, Mog made it his personal mission to find somethin’ positive out of it.”

“Wait,” Catra let go of the joystick, “what did you just say?”  
“Mog made the Dummy Plugs?” Tab frowned. “Hey, y’still need to steer, Kitten.”  
“No.” Catra didn’t touch the joystick. “What you said. Just before that.”  
Tab’s eyes widened. They sat down in the pilot’s seat, still as stone. “Not sure I’m followin’”  
“That’s crap. You’re lying. Obviously lying.” Catra glared. “Don’t lie to me.”

Tab’s hands rested on the controls. “Silver Storm, transfer controls back to Pilot one.”  
“What aren’t you telling me?” Catra hissed.

“Silver Storm, activate autopilot.” Tab sighed in resignation. “You don’t need to know right now.”

“That’s crap.” Catra stood up, her hands in fists as she looked about, then spotted the picture with Tab and Lybica. She snatched it quickly, and Tab’s eyes widened. “Tell me or I rip it.”

“That’s playin’ dirty.” Tab growled.  
“It’s the only picture you have of her, isn’t it?” Catra guessed from the reaction.  
Tab scowled, jaw tight. “The chips fused to our nervous system after we had them for too long.”

“You mean…” Catra’s green eyes widened as she stood and pulled away, the picture falling to the ground. “I could be stuck with this — this thing?”

“Yes?” Tab winced.

“Why didn’t you say anything about this to me?” Tab’s expression made it clear they were completely flustered and furious.

“We’ve been in Deep Space for over six months. We went as far from planets as possible.” Tab defended. “We weren’t sure, when we found you, how long it’ll take us to get to a solar system.”

“So that justifies not telling me I’ll be stuck with what Horde Prime did to me forever?”  
“Not necessarily. It might be possible to remove it, but there is a time limit.”  
“How long?” Catra hissed.

“Look, I don’t know.” There were several beats of silence punctuated by Catra’s heavy breathing. “I’m not an ace with the technical or medical stuff like Mog and~” Catra bolted. “Wait!” 

Tab slumped in their chair after Catra left, taking a deep breath. Reaching for the discarded photo, Tab frowned, looking at it. “Technically, this isn’t the only picture I got, but I can’t really call any of the others mine, can I, Lybica?” Placing the picture in its rightful place, Tab slumped lower in their chair. They pulled the leather jacket they wore more tightly around them and inhaled deeply, feeling comforted by the familiar scent of something almost minty, and below it, the distinctive scent of a Theran. A familiar one. Tab inhaled deeply and imagined arms wrapping around them, a tender kiss to their forehead.

“Sorry Kitten, but even without that damn chip, you’re still stuck with what he did forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tab's married! :O  
> Mal comes from a large family and she knows MAGIC!
> 
> Moggie is a bit of a Tech wizard and came up with alternate ways to use the Chips! I mean, if it's fused to your nervous system and you can interface with that, think of the possibilities! (and here's where some of the Gundam:IBO ideas come in).
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoyed and see you in the next chapter Space Cowboy!
> 
> Speaking of Space Cowboys, did anyone get the Cowboy Bebop Reference I made last chapter? First one to tell me gets...hmm, I'm not sure yet.


	7. “If Prime is buried here, WHO buried Prime?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bow and Adora confirm that Horde Prime is literally as dead as dirt and Catra's alive.  
> Mog might be a genius or secretly a serial killer, but Catra isn't sure it matters right now.  
> Catra is angry and it seems she has just figured out who to blame for her problems: Mal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all those who comment! I really do mean it when I say: 1) I love it when you do and 2) It's really encouraging to me when you y'all do. It really makes me want to get the next chappie up quicker. :)
> 
> This is a bit of a shorter chapter...ish. I mean, it seems so in comparison to next update's chapter. ;)
> 
> On a fun note: I am the sort of writer who gets a lot of fun feeding the seeds of certain reveals throughout, so I invite you guys to see if you pick up what I've laid down. Wild Mass Guessing is a lot of fun. Some of them, to me, seem fairly obvious, but I am also writing it so it'll be interesting to see how much of it is clear to you guys. I can't say I'll tell you if you're right, but I will respond to interesting guesses.
> 
> To be honest though, I like leaving some clues obvious for the reader because I think it's more fun as a reader to go "hey, I think this means X. How long will it take until so-and-so figures that out? How will they figure it out?"

Hey Catra,

We’re about to find you any moment in this place, I just know it. Glimmer has been focusing on how much magic seems to be around here, and she’s not sure how to feel about knowing this place was wiped out without anyone on Etheria being any the wiser. I’ve been wondering lately how it might have looked back when Mara was still living here. Did she know about the people here? Did she try to protect them too?

Entrapta and Bow have been plotting the ruins. Apparently they had aqueducts or something. Sewers when I asked. All sorts of systems you expect from a booming society. It really makes you wonder.

Anyways, I hope you’re staying put. We’re almost there.

With Care,  
Adora

***

“That’s the fifth camp we’ve checked now.” Bow sighed, looking at Adora. He watched as the blonde’s expression drew more stern, as she drew quieter. Adora was thinking too much. Well, as much as Adora did. She wasn’t a brooder in the sense of philosophy, Bow knew, but in the tendency to blame herself for any and all of what went wrong around them. He was getting that sense from her again.

“Bow,” her voice was very quiet. It had no need to be -- Glimmer had vanished to check another spot, but he felt Adora’s fear. The fear that if she spoke her thoughts too loudly, they would become the confirmed reality. “What if she’s…”

“Does that sound like the Catra you know?”

“Well, no,” Adora laughed, pained, but her blue eyes were solemn, “but she was pretty badly injured. Without medical attention, how would she…”

Bow frowned. “There’s a myth,” he spoke very quietly, “about shapeshifters in Etheria. That it was magic that let them do it and they came from the Moon, but some of their people lived in the underground.”

“But she never did anything like that before.” Adora pointed it out, “it only happened after Horde Prime…” She couldn’t say the words. They hurt too much.

“And you never turned into She-Ra until you found the Sword of Protection.”

Adora frowned at him. “Okay, but that’s different.”  
“Is it?”  
“Catra can’t be ‘Magic’ that doesn’t make any sense! We grew up together! She’s never done anything magical before in her life!”

“You thought you couldn’t have magic either.” Bow countered. “I’m not saying that’s what it is, I’m just saying that we can’t overlook it as a possibility. Especially since the ruins we just found…” He pulled up the Datapad and flickered to some pictures he had there. Adora’s eyes fell to the screen as Bow scrolled, back to the pictures of the drawings on walls. It was more images of the people with feline-like features, and her eyes narrowed at one. They seemed gathered around a prism-like shape that glowed, and the one closest to it, with her hand touching the gem stone, was engulfed in magenta flames.

“This looks kind of like the Fire Runestone.” Adora noted. Bow looked at it again and tilted his head. 

“You think so?” He flicked to the next image and paused. The feline-like people were now fighting an army. The army had a banner, which came with very familiar writing. “Wait a second.”

“First ones.” Adora confirmed.  
“So they fought the First Ones? Why?”  
“The first ones were trying to use magic from other planets, right?”

Bow didn’t like where this was going. “Maybe Mara told someone what the First Ones Planned with the Heart of Etheria Project….and maybe they weren’t okay with it.”

“If this is their response, maybe that’s why Mara was scared of her superiors returning to use the Heart of Etheria when the project was done?”

They looked across the vast expanse of ruins and in their minds as they looked at the rubble they could see blaster marks. Explosions. Imagine the dead left under crumbled buildings as people fled. They were surprised there weren’t any more skeletons. While Adora didn’t want to go looking for any, she now had to put this creeping thought to rest. Her and Bow searched at the edge of the ruins and she found what she feared: signs of a graveyard.

However, one plot caught her eye. Where the rest of it looked like normal ground, this soil seemed to have been disturbed recently.

“Bow! Come over here!” He was by her side in a moment, and she pointed. He nodded and reached into his quiver and took out an arrow. With a click it snapped into a shovel, and they took turns digging and digging. They took breaks too, in a process that must have taken hours. Bow went off to try and contact Glimmer, and Adora could only smile at his exasperation when Glimmer seemed entranced by the ruins to the point of ignoring him. They went back to digging. Until they found what must have been light grey flesh.

They stopped digging. At least now they know.

“So he really is gone.” Bow frowned. “For good.”  
“Thank goodness.” Adora agreed. Then stopped. “Wait! Bow! This is it!”  
“What!? What’s it?”  
“If Prime is buried here, WHO buried Prime?”  
Bow’s eyes lit up. “Catra!”  
“She’s alive!”

The earth shook under their feet. Behind them they saw a bright flash of pink light.

“Do you…” Adora’s smile was strained, “think this place could be haunted?”  
“We should go find Glimmer.”

*

Catra needed to find Mog.

Mog made the Dummy Plugs and if Mog could do that, perhaps he’d take this damn thing off of her? She could feel blood dripping through her fingertips as she kept clawing at it, fingernails catching the thing but never truly prying it off. Every once in a while she got lucky and her claw would catch it. She would tug at it and the world would disappear in a flash of white. 

She would be on the floor then, teeth grit with pain before shoving back to her feet to stumble. She remembered vaguely something about a hangar and a workshop. She found herself in a dark corridor with the smell of engine grease. That’s when she saw the sight of nightmares. Dangling in front of her, hung by wire coming from the rafters.

Arms. Legs. Dismembered limbs.

Catra screamed. Mog yelped in surprise, hitting his head on the work lamp above him as he stood in fright and screamed back. It took a solid minute of both of them screaming at each other before Mog clambered from the table, pushing a welding mask off his face as he turned to face Catra.

“What the hell! I’m using a blowtorch!” Mog screamed. “Do you want me to burn myself?”

“You have dismembered limbs hung from your ceiling!” Catra screamed back, “who the hell does that? What are you a serial killer?”

Mog froze, looking at Catra. He carefully put the blowtorch down, his lips pulling into a self satisfied smirk before he started laughing. Catra’s green eyes widened and she began to back out of the workshop slowly. Something hit her on the back and she leaped nearly ten feet.

“Silver Storm. Turn the lights back on in the workshop please!” 

The lights were practically blinding, and Catra had to squint as she turned around to find one of the dismembered legs she had seen earlier, only to freeze in confusion.

“It’s...made of metal?”

“A bionic leg.” Mog explained. He gestured around the workshop. Catra saw several other examples littered throughout. Legs, most of them left, hands, most of them right. “Therans, we have an interesting problem that Hume species don’t. It has to do with our rather unique physiology. Our body structures actually, physically move when we transform.”

“Transform?”

Mog turned off the blow torch, and set it down as he crossed his arms, baffled. “Duh. Some call it transformation but the technical term is actually Shifting. All Therans use to be able to Shift at will like you do, but now tons of us need a shard of the Twilight Topaz to help. Tab has one. Old Man Tom too. Me? I do, but I don’t usually use mine.”

“Wait…” This was news to Catra, she stepped closer to Mog, who backed away, his nose twitching and his visible eye narrowing. “You mean every Theran is capable of transforming?” This was new information, information that she didn’t know what to do with. Had she always been able to transform and not know it? Would she have been able to do so if she got angry enough? Why was it that she was able to transform after Horde Prime’s experiments?

“Not everyone can Shift, even if they have a Twilight Topaz Shard.” Mog dismissed, “Mal used to be able to, but now she can’t, even with a piece of the Twilight Topaz. Me? I still can, technically, but doing so causes a lot of pain.” He pointed to his missing eye and gave a wan smile. “Shifting is a physical and magical process where your bones pretty much dislocate and then pop back in where they need to be for your other form. The process is rapid and the healing even quicker, so you hardly feel a thing if you’re focused.” Mog grinned, “It’s incredibly efficient! Your body knows when it’s not healthy, so you heal up as you make the switch one time! However, there is a bit of a problem with that.” Mog’s grin faded and he sobered up, looking at Catra. “Mending cuts or broken ribs is one thing, but if you have literal parts of you missing, it tries to heal something that no longer exists.” Mog tsked, “As I’ve discovered, that can be quite an uncomfortable problem. Here, look at this.”

Catra blinked at him as he went over to one of the metal legs and began spinning it around for her to see. Timidly, she approached, and she could feel Mog’s gaze narrow when he caught the back of her neck, bloody and scratched up.

“What am I looking at?” She deflected before he could ask about her neck.  
“Look at the metal work.”  
“It looks weirdly scratched.” Catra noted.  
“Look closer, will you?”  
“They look like characters. Letters?”

“Nope! They’re runes!” Mog pulled away, beaming. “Tom knows tons about magic and Mal knows about how our bodies work. I’ve been consulting them both. I have a theory.” Mog ran to another leg, this one was also a left leg and he took it off the hook and turned it this way and that, “If we could make prosthetics that could turn the magic within your own body into electricity to power it, while it responds to your nerves, you’d have complete control without needing a power source, right? Just a small rechargeable battery for when you’re too exhausted.”

Catra blinked. “I...guess?”

“So, and follow me here — doing that would mean it would be tapped into your nervous system AND your natural magic.” He began gently tugging on the leg, pressing here and there and Catra watched as part of it swung forward, another back and the metal structure changed shape. Now the leg resembled something more akin to that of Claudine’s or Melog’s hind legs. “If that limb had the ability to change form as needed — bam, problem solved. No issue with your body trying to heal what’s not there because, well, now it sort of is! There’d probably be discomfort still but nowhere near as bad as your brain trying to figure out why something is completely missing and where it went.”

“Ah…” Catra frowned at him, “okay. What does this mean?”

“You can go back to Shifting from your biped to quadruped form again! Cool, isn’t it?”

“Yeah...cool.” Catra could feel her heart rate finally starting to calm down as she realized the depth of her misunderstanding, “still incredibly creepy to sit in a dark workshop with mechanical limbs hanging around though.”

“Sure, to some, but someday my work is going to make thousands of people happy. Even Mal says so. Getting a compliment out of someone like her is a miracle.” Mog carefully removed his welding mask, rubbing some dark oily smudges onto his grey face as he did so. As he set it down, Catra stared at him, surprised to see a glint of metal where she was used to seeing black fabric. “Like it? Newest model Mal and I made. Still has some kinks to work out, but I have a much better sense of things coming at me on my blind side when I’m not plugged in.”

Catra gaped. “Plugged in?”

“Oh! Ha! Right!” Mog spun around, rummaging through metal before he pulled out another one of those collar-like devices like what Tab had been using. “A Dummy Plug. I was making one for you too, but I’m not sure what you’ll use yet. I try to have specialized settings. The one in the pilots’ chair on the bridge is set for Tab’s specifications, but anyone can plug in with the default. Really, most of them are swappable, except for Mal’s, but she’s got some unique parameters. The only thing we have that is specifically specialized to her is her personal craft, the Clawdeen-Nu. Thanks to the upgrades she went from being barely able to pilot -- not from lack of skill, mind you -- to taking out small pirate fleets solo. She’s a freaking beast now!”

His smile was warm and gentle as he extended his arm, the collar in hand offering it to Catra. Her eyes narrowed, but she reached for it.

Green. She was drowning in it. Couldn’t breathe in it. She was caught behind a plane of glass, everything around her covered in this green hue, and there he was, smirking, watching, his hand on the other side of the glass, watching her with that smug look on his face.

When Catra’s awareness came back, Mog looked at her with worry. Catra could feel blood trickling through her fingertips again, and the Dummy Plug was smashed into pieces on the ground.

“I want this thing off of me.” Catra gritted.  
“Look, I’d love to help but~”  
“Before it fuses to my nervous system.”  
Mog sighed, putting a hand to his head. “I just can’t do that, okay?”  
“Why not?”

“It’s not possible right now.” Mog was sort of talking around the issue, and Catra could feel the fear and the rage building, feeling her bones stiffen and creak in warning.

“Why not?” She growled. “Get rid of it, I want it gone!”  
“We don’t know if it’s already too late!” Mog warned, “and besides, even if we did, Mal said~”

“So this is because of Mal?” Catra snapped. 

Mog froze, the expression on his face pinched and worried. “It’s not her fault, really, but Mal handles a lot of things on the ship, including our supplies, and she said we don’t~”

“So I have to talk to Mal about this, is that it?”  
“Catra, listen~”  
“Was it her idea to not tell me I could be stuck with this thing forever?”

Mog looked torn. “I don’t want to lie to you and say no, but you have to understand she did it because~”

“I don’t care! What am I? An experiment to her? Where is she?”  
“She’s…” A sheen of sweat seemed to be on Mog’s brow now. “In the med bay.”

Catra took off like a bat out of hell, and Mog looked at her, his eyes big with worry before he went back to his work bench and flicked two buttons. They beeped and then turned orange.

“You’ve got Tom in the engine room.” Came his rich deep baritone voice.  
“Trouble is heading Mal’s way.”  
“What did you do to piss the kid off?” Tom grunted.

“She wanted the chip gone! Practically clawed a hole in her neck herself!” Mog protested.  
“Mal reviewed our inventory.” Tom seemed frustrated. “Said we don’t have the tools right now.”  
“That’s not how Catra’s going to see it!” Moggie warned lightly, earning a sigh from Tom.

“But that was literally the first thing Mal checked for after patching the kid up. Twice.”  
“I know.” Mog almost whined. “That’s why Mal didn’t want to say anything, right?  
“Well shit.” Tom huffed. “Looks like Mal’s usual tactics might just blow up in her face.”

“I don’t think Catra noticed, but she’s on the verge of shifting again. Also, Mal’s been limping.”  
“I’ll head over shortly.” That light went out. The second one remained solid. He clicked it.

“A little early in the morning for trouble, isn’t it, Moggie?” Mal’s voice was playful.  
“She found out. She’s heading your way.”  
“Thanks. You’re sweet.” He could hear Mal smiling. “Thought you were pissed?”  
“Not enough to see you hurt.” Mog replied gently, “besides, I knew you were baiting me.”  
“Was it that obvious not going to Port was Tab’s call? I should be more subtle.”

“Speaking of the Captain, you already knew about this, didn’t you?” Mog groaned when Mal laughed. “This is Tab’s fault, isn’t it?”

“Sharp.” Mal’s soft laughter trailed off. “Manx owes me a month of unlimited massages.”  
“Good.” He grinned. “Make sure you cash in.” A distant crash. Moggie’s heart rate spiked.

“We were hours from letting her know anyway.” Mal sighed. “It’ll just be a little messier.”  
“I’m sorry, Grimalkin. Be careful.”  
“Just get what we do have on hand ready as a peace offering, Moggie.”

“Will do.” Mog sighed again. “By the way, I tried not to make you the bad guy.”  
“Why? I’m the Quartermaster, dummy, remember?” Another laugh. “That’s how this works.” 

“Mal, be serious for a second.” Mog’s voice was tight, “Tom won’t, and Tab would rather wring their hands, so I’m gonna ask: how much pain have you been in? You’ve been limping an awful lot on that leg of yours lately.” He got no response. Then the orange light went out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of all the crew/Catra dynamics, Mal/Catra is perhaps one of the most fun to write for. Mog is pretty much an open book and he makes that clear in this chapter: he's a little weird, but cares very much about his technology because he wants to help people. He likes Catra and wants to help her but he knows the chain of command and is content he is nowhere near being the alpha. Tom has already sort of made it clear that he just wants a simple life, and so he's content being the nurturer and steering clear of the crew power struggles. Tab wants everyone to be happy and is trying hard to be the older sibling to Catra, but Mal has and perhaps will always be the one with an agenda she keeps close to her vest. So if it seems like it's not clear if Mal or Tab runs the show, that's on purpose. There's multiple reasons for that, stemming from both social and personal factors between them.
> 
> Let's just say you should assume that Mal is indeed very truthful (Mog, Tom and Tab wouldn't put up with her otherwise), but she omits information by default. Everyone else knows this of course, but have come to a truce that if they absolutely needed to know something right this moment, Mal's already told them. If she HASN'T told them something yet, there's a very good reason for it. Everyone knows this except Catra. That's a bit of a problem right now.
> 
> Because I thought it would be fun, I'll start previewing the next chapters with something lacking it's context to whet your appetite. Let me know if you like this addition in the author notes.
> 
> Next chapter:
> 
> “Thanks Teela, we’ll keep that in mind!” The thin, lean figure in the middle removed their helmet, and Glimmer froze. Long straw blond hair in a low ponytail. Bright blue eyes, the way they smiled was eerily familiar.
> 
> The angelic being on the floor seemed to think so too. “A-Adora?”


	8. “You missed your chance to talk.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer discovers a clue about Angella's fate  
> Prince Adam, Teela and Kittrina meet with Princess De'va of the Therans  
> Catra has a bone to pick with Mal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MOTU characters enter! YAY!
> 
> Welcome Teela and Adam (we ALL knew I was going to bring Adam in somehow).
> 
> Kittrina is more of a "one episode wonder" as many extended characters were, but her connection to Catfolk made her too good to pass up. She's younger to fit in with the age of most of the protagonists here.

Catra,

I’ve been thinking lately. Maybe, in some cases, it’s better to know as little about where you come from as possible? A wild thought, isn’t it?

But every time I find out something new about the First Ones I’m horrified. The ruins left on this Moon showed this fight between the people here and the First Ones. I wonder if you saw them? I wonder what you thought? I’m almost scared to ask.

As it currently stands, it seems like the First Ones destroyed these people. People who, in these images, they kind of look like you. I don’t know how to process that idea: that the people where I came from could possibly be responsible for destroying the people whom you came from.

It’s a little hard to bear.

Yours,  
Adora.

*  
The only thing Glimmer could hear was the rushing of blood in her ears.

The light she carried still shone brightly on the ground where a large circular depression in the earth was. Her foot was beside it. Slowly, to not disturb her finding, she knelt down. A small plume of dust was kicked up and with a shaking hand she reached out, delicately wrapping around the hollow bone of a white feather. It was ragged, sharp in some areas, but it glowed ever so faintly pink.

“No.” She whispered, “no, no, no…” she wracked her brain, started drawing circles in the dust, allowing the magic to glow.

“Glimmer,” it was Bow on the comm. Her voice caught in her throat, “where are you? We’re moving to a different sector. Still no sign of Catra.”

“Keep looking, I’ll…” she frowned when the feather fluttered, “I’ll catch up later.”  
“Are you alright?” she could imagine Bow’s eyebrows pulling together.

“Never been better! Just really focused on some runes I’m looking at here! Talk to you later, bye Bow!” She shut off the comm and went back to the circle before her, a hand placed to a chin.

“If I change this symbol Shadow Weaver said this becomes a locator spell.” A dull hum and a pulse of light, and nothing. Glimmer kicked at the dirt in frustration, then tried different symbols, drawing them in the air, “okay, fine. Instead of locating, maybe I can get a read on the feather itself. I mean, it’s living. Sort of. It belongs to something living and that means, maybe…”

Everything seemed to lurch forward and shake. Intense pink light surrounded her and suddenly she could see a form, thin and frail, slumped on the ground. Long hair a tangled mess about their face, wings drawn around them. They were breathing heavily. In the distance was a magenta space craft, a small one. It was sleek, as if designed for speed, with several types of barrels on it, most likely blasters.

The slumped angelic form held her hand, and when Glimmer got closer she could see if it was burnt badly. Another aircraft -- bulkier, some sort of carrier of a very different design -- landed. It reminded her, oddly, of Mara’s ship. The design philosophy was similar, but seemed newer. From it, three figures in white space suits emerged. As they neared, Glimmer could hear them.

“It seems there’s enough air here to breathe, Prince Adam.” Came a soft voice.  
“Good to know.” Came a deeper voice from the figure in the middle.

“Also,” came the first speaker, “we need to be careful about how long we’re here. My monitors show our shuttle and the Mothership are already out of sync. Current ratio shows things run about fifteen percent slower here.” Teela made a low, disapproving sound. “We could think we’re gone for ten days and find out it was actually eleven and a half.”

“Thanks Teela, we’ll keep that in mind!” The thin, lean figure in the middle removed their helmet, and Glimmer froze. Long straw blond hair in a low ponytail. Bright blue eyes, the way they smiled was eerily familiar.

The angelic being on the floor seemed to think so too. “A-Adora?”

Glimmer froze. That voice. She rooted to the spot and watched the scene with intense focus.

The blond stopped in front of the angel, in front of her mother. Now Glimmer could get a good look at him. His features were a bit rougher. Broader, and the peach fuzz of a beard confirmed it was someone different, but the resemblance was uncanny. He looked slightly older, but not by much. Perhaps mid twenties to her and Adora’s early twenties?

“How do you know that name?” He asked. “It doesn’t matter. You messed with something you had no business touching. Something dangerous” His hand rested on his blade. “Who are you?”

The angel drew her hair from her face with her good hand, neither poised nor calm. “This is the Kingdom of Half Moon, isn’t it?” A pause. “Well, it was. I heard about this place as a Princess.”

“You were a Princess?” Adam frowned. “This is what’s left of Half Moon. Her people don’t exist anymore, but their descendants became a people of their own.” There was an almost reverent pause as he turned to one of many Cat-like statues. “Surprised to see it actually. It got lost to history with Etheria, in a pocket dimension we believe. Which I’m guessing is where you’re from. We’re in the dimension but where’s your planet now?”

“Not here.” Angella replied simply.  
Adam chuckled. “I can see that.” He hummed. “So maybe it’s back out there now. Somewhere.”

“That’s not good for us. Files show Etheria was a weapon. If the Imperialists get there first~”  
“I know, Teela, I know.” Adam assured. “That’s why I called De’va over here.” He gestured to the other craft.

“Are you sure that was wise? You know that Princess De’va can be,” a pause, “difficult, Prince Adam.”

Angella’s tired eyes widened. “Princess De’va?” she asked softly.

“Think of her as being kind of the Princess of the Magicats, or rather, the Therans as they’re known as now.” Adam hummed answering Angella. Teela rolled her eyes.

“Why did you tell her that?” Teela shook her head, “and way to change the topic, Prince Adam.”  
“Well, unless you want to try your luck with the Sorceress, De’va is who we g~”

Teela made a noise of disgust. “The Sorceress is part of the problem now. I mean accepting to govern a planet? Allowing the Dens to continue there? Has she lost it?”

“The Sorceress' betrayal weakened us, but also hurt our allegiances with the Blades of Maud. I care more about repairing than I do about how prickly De’va can be.” Adam stated frankly. 

“I suppose you’re right. It’s not like Chief Carnivus is the Theran leader running to our aid.” 

“Then De’va has to be the one who Scrys for the Mask of Power.” Adam concluded, turning to Teela and giving her a strained smile. “She’s our best bet. Sorry Teela.”

“How did you find me?” Angella asked. He pointed at her hand. Angella looked at the badly burned limb and cradled it close to her chest. “I noticed it’s power and thought for a moment that I could use it. Maybe it could power another portal.”

Adam nodded. “It certainly does have that kind of ability.” He confirmed.  
“That thing is a Runestone isn’t it?” Angella concluded.  
“A prototype, actually.” Adam admitted glibly.  
“It’s a lot like the Fire Runestone.” Angella admitted. “Dangerous. Uncontrollable.”

“Funny you should say that. It’s element was meant to be fire, but,” Adam’s gaze was steely, “we couldn’t control it the way we wanted.”

“We?” Angella echoed. Then it dawned. “You’re one of the First Ones. Like Adora.”

“Yes,” Adam flinched, “like my beloved and dead sister.” He glared at Angella. “My ancestors at the time believed the Twilight Topaz’s failure was because we collaborated too much with the Bestial society of Half Moon. The Magicats.” Adam admitted, he looked up to the pink ship. “I know someone who’s very familiar with the Twilight Topaz, someone who will make sure your activation of it’s fragments doesn’t cause us trouble. Hey De’va, you gonna join us?”

Seconds later, a creature on all fours came bounding towards them. Adam chuckled, shaking his head while his two companions finally unmasked themselves. One was an Eternian woman with Auburn hair and green eyes. The other looked much like Catra, but her hair, tail and ears were black, like the stripes on her skin, and her ear tufts a dark brown. She had odd, mismatched eyes just like Catra did, in fact they even had a similar body build, but this girl was taller. She was as tall as Teela, whom, if Glimmer had to guess, seemed about Adora’s height, but she seemed a few years younger. Her face hadn’t grown out of it’s baby-like roundness yet. The Catra-like girl scowled as a large feline — some sort of lion with a magenta glow around their darkly coloured body — came into view.

“I’ll stick to this for now.” The lion spoke to them as it sat up elegantly.  
Adam laughed. “We don’t even get to see your face today? I even brought Kittrina!”

“I told you to leave Trina out of this.” Came the Lions reverberating voice. “She’s young, vulnerable and should be kept away from these things.” Kittrina hissed.

“I’m a little old and too smart for a manipulative viper like you to think you can still tell me what to do! Or did you forget that in two years' time, the only thing keeping me from the throne is Uncle, Mother and YOU!”

“Your Mother’s mind is gone, Kitten. Anyone who puts her on the Theran throne now is using her as a puppet, make no mistake.” Came the Lion’s response. Adam cringed at how frank it was. Glimmer winced as well. Angella looked to the young girl who fumed with the news.

“That sounds...difficult.” Angella murmured. Kittrina’s ears flicked, and her eyes narrowed.

“She wouldn't have lost her mind if she wasn’t abandoned by a jackass like you in the first place, Aunt De’va!” Kittrina hissed the last mockingly. “But I guess that’s convenient for you, isn’t it?”

“Princess Sunda made her choice.” Came the cool response, “Don’t squander it by making yourself Chief Carnivus’ target. Keeping you off his radar~”

Kittrina bared her long canines. She reached for Angella and pulled her harshly to her feet. Adam and Teela both shouted at her to stop while the angelic being struggled. A sound like a hiss of escaping air, and Kittrina smirked, letting go and letting Angella fall. Adam caught Angella, then looked up. In front of them was another woman with those same large ears and tail as Catra. Her eyes were hauntingly beautiful. One was blue, the other gold, just like Catra’s. Her hair dark as night and curly, her face bearing ornate markings in white.

“Next time you have the nerve to talk to me about my mother,” a low growl slipped past her lips, one that seemed far too loud and deep for such a small form, “I’ll tear your throat out and watch you choke. Got it?” Kittrina stormed off several paces. Close enough for her sensitive ears to listen in but far enough to imply she had no intention of being part of the conversation.

“Who are you people?” Angella pulled away from Adam, but he pinned her against him.  
“We’re not here to hurt you. Really. Just calm down, Etherian.”  
“Let go of me!”

“I need to get back before the Captain realizes how long I’ve been gone or I’m going to have a mess to clean up.” De’va blithely looked at Angella, then looked at her wrist. “I was doing a short pick up in the area when I got your hail.”

“Then we better be quick. I like your look today, by the way. The real you. Reminds me of when we were still kids.” He smiled. “Wish you weren’t stuck in a normal suit right now though.”

“Careful, Adam,” De’va smiled coquettishly, “wouldn’t want present company to get the wrong idea. Some might get jealous,” her eyes flickered to Teela, “others nervous,” she looked to Angella, “and others curious of what you might be offering.” She stared at him dead in the eye.  
“Oh! Right. Of course not!” Adam chuckled, blushing, pinning Angella’s arms behind her back. “Forget I said that. I get so clumsy with my wording sometimes.” Angella thrashed in response, eyes wide with fear, but Teela quietly slipped out a pair of handcuffs and now her hands were uselessly behind her back. “That wasn’t my intention.” De’va scoffed. “Greyskull will take possession of the woman.”

“Let go of me!”

Teela smirked. “We’re not even being rough.” There was a beep on the device on her wrist and something materialized in hand. She placed it over Angella’s mouth. “Stay quiet, will you?”

Adam looked back at De’va. “Is that alright with you?”

“You can take her, Adam. Cymric Cooperative refuses to do anything that can be construed or misconstrued as trafficking, so count us out of this affair.” De’va confirmed. “Besides, I’d have a hard time explaining that to the Captain.”

“How is the good captain by the way?” Adam asked.

“They still can’t stand you, so stop making a deal of it.” Her smile was too sweet for her words. She gestured towards Angella with her head. “Make sure you don’t lose her.” De’va eyes narrowed, “and try not to have another one of your rebels think Theran trafficking is more fun than our freedom.”

“You really won’t let me live that down?” Adam laughed nervously. 

“It was a gross miscalculation.” De’va corrected him, “Ones that cost the Theran people far more than the Eternians.” De’va words ended with a low, snarl that reverberated. “Easy to let go of screw ups when you’re the one who doesn’t have skin in the game,” she was glaring, “Prince Adam.”

“I miss you, De’va.” He smiled charmingly. “When will the Blades declare that you’re alive?”  
“Neither you nor them can afford to face the Eternians head on right now.”  
“Careful as always.” Adam sighed.  
“Only because you’ve proven careless!” De’va hissed. “You’re turning into a liability!”  
“How long do we have to keep our intentions in the shadows?”

“If Chief Carnivus stops being a sycophant long enough to notice what you’re doing, it’s curtains, Adam. You may be Randor’s son, but it doesn’t matter. He’s lost a daughter and a wife! He is hell bent to never have something like that happen again!” A pause. “Grief warps people.”

“Speaking from personal experience?”

“I suggest you keep your dumb speculations to yourself and focus on not screwing up looking after the Etherian...if she even is Etherian.” came De’va’s sharp response.

“Duly noted. The remnants of the Twilight Topaz that she found,” he looked to De’va, “I think you would do better to keep some for yourself and smuggle the rest to The Swords of Maud?”

“Are you sure?”

“I have no use for them and you’re right -- you can’t exactly hide a woman like this Eternian without it causing issues either between your crew or drawing attention to the Tribe that you’re still...” he paused, “well, alive.”

“The kill on sight order?” Adam flinched at how casually De’va admitted to it.

“Yes. That. Currently you blend in as a humble little smuggler. Anything that threatens that -- like an Angelic being in an all-Theran crew? That could be grief for you. But a bit of magic stone in the hands of a Theran Mage? I think that’s something that’ll be overlooked.”

“Very well.” De’va stooped down and with a container she had in hand, gathered all of the broken crystals in the sunken pedestal into a container, and examined them. There was a beep on her wrist and she frowned. “Yeah. It’s me. All clear. ETA? Fifteen minutes.”

“That sounds like a tight timeframe.” Adam joked.  
“The ship is nearby. At top speeds my craft should get there in about seven.”  
“Ugh. You and your top speeds. I don’t miss riding with you.”

“And I don’t miss my cockpit smelling of vomit.” De’va smirked, then stumbled back to her feet, almost falling. Adam caught her by the arm and they stared at each other for a long and awkward moment until Teela coughed.

“Got a little roughed up recently?” Adam asked softly as they separated.

“Just the usual. My legs are sore.” De’va dismissed, “don’t worry about it too much.” De’va started heading back to her craft. “Reach out to Sir Tao for updates. See you soon, if fortune allows.” De’va waved and Adam turned to Angella. He smiled again and tore off the sticky tape Teela had put over her mouth.

“Now, how about we start with the most interesting thing first.” Adam rested his hand lightly over his sword, the other raising to tilt Angella’s head up. “How do you know the name Adora?”

*

Catra’s teeth almost felt too big in her mouth. Her muscles felt as if they were strained, her bones creaked as she moved, but she could tell this was just rage. She was still learning her way about the ship, but she had made note of the medical bay. Had circled it many times. Mal had once made an offer to explain some things -- an offer she never really took the Theran up on, but now? Now Catra wanted answers. She wanted all the answers.

The grate steps shook with each foot fall, vibrating almost menacingly. The door she slid open with a harsh yank, and her nose filled with a strangely calming scent. It wasn’t herbal, it was unlike anything she was used to, but it was there, distracting almost that she almost forgot her anger. Almost. 

The infirmary was strange. Browns and silvers seemed to be the colour scheme of many places on the ship, but all but the wall upon which the door was happened to be covered in plants, giving the space a bluish green hue. Some sort of vertical farming implementation as it almost seemed like. Mal sat at the far wall at a table, her leather jacket still gone, her sleeves slightly pushed back, revealing the tight fitting bracers. She was tinkering with something. Catra approached slowly, but paused when Mal spoke to her.

“Tab’s little stunt broke our centrifuge.” her voice was honeyed, almost soothing. Catra gritted her teeth. Something about this was off. She didn’t feel like she was in control, but rather was being controlled, subtly, somehow. “It’s not working properly. Now doing blood work is going to be a pain and repairing such technology gets expensive,” Mal sighed, gesturing with her right hand, her back still facing Catra, “not to mention it’s a huge concern for us. Tomas needs me to check his blood regularly so we can keep an eye on his medications, and I need to check my own for something. Tab can be so inconsiderate sometimes.”

Catra’s eyes darted around the space -- to the other tables, to the surgical bed in the center, the various vials stacked neatly in holsters, the cabinet. She inched closer to Mal who didn’t even move a muscle. In the corner nearest to Mal, leaned between the plants were a set of strange sticks -- they had a strange brace for what seemed to be an arm, and a handle jutting out sideways -- almost like tonfa, but longer and seemingly meant for weight bearing. They were in Mal’s arm’s reach, and now Catra’s as she got closer.

“Hey,” Mal spoke softly and calmly, “I can smell the blood Kitty. Why don’t you just sit down and have me take a look at the wound? I’ll clean it up for you. We can talk. Just talk, okay?”

Catra instead looked at the rack full of vials and knocked it over with a loud crash. Some smashed and shattered while others remained intact, rolling beneath their feet. Mal sat up very straight, her tail now bristled, but her back never turned. “Those were some important and expensive medicines I was working on.” Was all Mal said in a very flat tone. She stayed facing defiantly forward. It was starting to piss Catra off.

“I don’t care.” Catra growled. “You missed your chance to talk.”

“There’s always a chance to talk. Sometimes the discussion may have to start off with tense words and yelling first.” She could hear the coo in Mal’s voice and caught that scent again. Catra’s eyes narrowed. “But conversations can still be made.”

“You’re doing something to me, aren’t you?” Catra bared her teeth. “I can feel it! I want you to stop it, right now!” The tension in Mal’s back returned. Her tinkering stopped. Confirmation, Catra took it as. “What are you doing to my head? Is it magic?” Catra hissed.

“I’m sorry, I can’t.” Mal’s tail curled, an oddly passive gesture. It annoyed Catra. “Therans influence each other with our pheromones. Influence, not control.” Mal stressed, finally putting the tools in hand down, and folded her hands, her shoulders tense. “It lets others understand your emotional state.” There was a slight shake to her voice. “Mine can be rather strong if I’m emotional enough. As a child, I’ve helped tipped tense rooms into bloody frenzies.” Finally Mal turned around, and Catra could take her in. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, her golden eyes wide, almost in childlike fright. “So I try to keep myself from reacting too strongly at an inopportune time.” A worried smile. “Like now. You’re pissed as hell. If I lose my temper now, any restraint you have will probably be gone.” she shook her head. “Listen, I don’t want that. Let’s talk, Cafra, okay?”

It was like instinct then. Catra felt her rage kick in at Mal’s demeanour. She reached for one of the sticks and whipped it at Mal’s head. Mal took the hit full on without moving, the crack loudly echoing through the quiet room, and when Catra smelled blood -- Mal’s blood, something primal reacted with a deep satisfaction as she loomed over Mal’s now toppled form. Mal didn’t say anything at first, didn’t move, until she put a hand up to her bleeding head, curling up on the ground with a shaking breath. “Well, it doesn’t matter what you want, Mal. Because you don’t always get to have your way.”

“I suppose not.” Mal pushed herself into a sitting position and stared at Catra, blankly stared. Catra frowned, not sure if she was concussed. “Your ear tufts are growing back. They look nice, Cafra, you should keep them.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about the chip?” Catra demanded. Mal scowled.

“Can we please do this outside of the medical bay?” There came that soothing sensation again, and Catra’s green eyes narrowed in suspicion. “We really don’t need more things broken.”

“I told you to stop doing that!” Catra hissed. Mal flinced. “What am I? Some sort of toy to you?”

“No, of course not.” Mal bit her lip, “Cafra, listen…” her eyes glowing with something Catra could only read as fear. She reached for Mal by the collar and slammed her into the nearest wall, the greenery of the plants filling Catra’s senses as she pushed her forearm against Mal’s throat, and she began to choke.

“You can’t even be bothered to get my name right. Is that how little you think of me?” A rush of air as Mal struggled. Catra stared at her coldly. “This thing on my neck. The Chip. Why the hell didn’t you tell me I’ll be stuck with it forever?”

“Be-because that might not be the case.” Mal choked out, her legs flailing and kicking at Catra’s. She applied more pressure and Mal just wheezed. “It can be removed. If it’s early enough.”

“Then get rid of it!”  
“We--” Mal coughed, “we can’t!”  
The anger flared. Catra let her arm up, only to hit Mal in the stomach, “Can’t or won’t?”

“We’re stopping --” Mal could barely breathe, her legs gave out from under her but Catra had her back pressed to the wall, “we’re stopping at Terras for the supplies.” One of her hands pried at Catra’s, giving her just the tiniest of space to breathe. “I already checked the inventory five times now.” her voice was feather light and weak, “Five.”

“Liar!”

“We have nothing! We don’t even have substitutes! We spent six months in space!” Mal sounded panicked now. “We need to do a supply run.”

Catra froze. She backed off. “And you couldn’t just trust me with that?” She asked the coughing Mal, who rubbed harshly at what she could of her neck below the collar as she doubled over, coughing. “You guys are a joke.” Catra snarled. “Hypocrites.” The look in Mal’s eyes scared her a little. Gone was the fear. Instead, there was rage. The type that didn’t make you angry in turn, but made you fearful.

“I believe that was three.” Mal whispered, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “My turn.”

“What!?” Mal rushed her then, diving low and catching her by the waist. Catra yelped in surprise, leaving bloody welts along Mal’s shoulders as in a flash the Theran bodily lifted her, rushing through the door and tossing her over the railing into the open area of the loading bay. Catra hit the ground hard, hissing in pain, and then rolled away just as Mal jumped over the railing and dove for where her head would have been.

“When I say get the hell out of the Medical Bay before you break important shit, I mean it!”

Catra looked at Mal’s form, how her chest heaved with every breath, the blood along her temple and forehead and nose. Mal then formed her hands into fists, but stayed still as stone. Her weight favoured her right leg, keeping her off balance. Easy to knock over, Catra noted to herself. Catra imagined then, how it would be to tear past the leather of the collar she wore. How it would feel to tear Mal’s throat out, to taste her blood.

A flash of runes lit up Catra’s vision just as Melog came from Mal’s left. She physically yelped, drawing circle after circle, deflecting Melog. The last time she was too slow, and Melog grabbed her left leg, but she didn’t even flinch, instead punching Melog in the head. Catra snarled.

“Screw you!” Catra launched at her. Her world seemed to shift to instinct and the smell of blood. This time she heard Mal scream. Heard panicked words. Panicked breaths. A jumble of sound. Other voices now, seemingly frenzied. More blood. Mal’s blood she was sure -- then another scent. Melog’s? Catra grew even angrier when large arms seized her and threw her back.

Tom roared, a warning to back off. But Melog’s whimper had Catra rushing forward again. This time, Tom was enveloped in a soft glow of green light and a large grey cat stood between her and the rolling forms of Mal and Melog.

“Hey Kid. This is no place for something like this.” Tom spoke to her in his feline form, surprising her. She didn’t know how to do the same. “Let’s get it out of your system, but no going for blood.” She roared in response, her mind dissolving into white. She felt herself disappear into the rage, only stopping when there was a sudden flash of heat and light and another whimper. Tom threw her to the ground. Then suddenly, everything went dark.

When she came to, she was still at the scene of the chaos, but everything looked so different. For starters, there were dark scorch marks on metal. Some places, like a nearby rafter were just melted. The smell of hot metal and blood permeated the air along with burnt fabric. Moggie stood close to the stairs by the medbay, looking anxious. Everything was in a wash of bright green and when Catra put her hand on the wall, she felt a shock throughout her body. Her ears drooped as she looked at her jailor. Tom. He watched her closely, his jaw set as he stayed silent. Behind him was Tab, their arms crossed and eyes dark, the leather jacket they wore on the bridge was now missing and they were back in their tank top. Behind them both was another person, maintaining a similar holding cell of magic that glowed magenta. It held a roaring Melog.

“You didn’t waste your time ganging up on me, did you?” Catra snorted. “I always knew this would happen.”

“Only cause you made it happen, Kitten.” Tab’s voice was clipped. “It was gettin’ out of hand.” The captain followed up with a snarl. “You would have killed Mal.”

“She seemed like she was defending herself just fine.” Catra huffed.

“If you had any self awareness durin’ your little temper tantrum you would have realized Mal was already INJURED and was holdin’ back to the point of endangerin’ herself!” Tab snarled.

“She literally threw me off the stairs.”

“Because you were startin’ a fight in the Med Bay. You know?” Tab’s voice rose as they gestured behind them to the aforementioned room. “The place with all of the supplies we need to patch you up after the two of you were done beatin’ the livin’ crap out of each other?”

“Oh, so this is my fault? Because she didn’t want to fight in the Med bay?”  
All anger drained from Tab and turned to annoyance. “Who threw the first punch?”  
“Why does that matter?”  
“Who. Threw. The. First. Effin’. Punch.” Tab echoed.

Catra smirked. “I hit her with that stick thing she had near her after she tried to mess with my head.” It was false bravado, and she thought Tab would back off, but instead Tab’s eyes grew wide and suddenly she was face to face with Catra, teeth and claws.

“You bloody twit! You have some nerve! I oughta~”

“Manx.” Mal’s voice was hoarse and sounded pained, but pleading. “Stop it.” Tab spat on the ground and took three steps back, glaring at Catra.

“You fucked up Kitten. You really fucked up.”

“Everyone needs to just take a breath.” Tom chimed in, his voice gentle. “Kid, you can tell we’re angry, but for good reason. The way that fight was escalating could have done some serious damage to the hull.” He pointed to a scorched mark that looked dented oddly. “Then we’d all be screwed.” Catra swore she heard Mal very quietly apologize, but Tab dismissed it.

“Holdin’ back only goes so far when the other party is aimin’ to rip your throat out, Grima. ” Tab’s canines were still showing, “Between your bad leg and her, your life was in danger. Instinct took over. Makes sense your Magic kicked in.” Mal murmured something Catra didn’t hear and didn’t care to. She just glared at Tab.

“What are you gonna do? Gonna kick me out the airlock now?” Catra hissed.  
Tab crossed their arms again. “We have no reason to trust you.”

“You have no reason to trust me!? What about me trusting you? You said you wanted me to join your crew and the first thing you did was hold back something very important from me!”

Tom sighed, messing up his own air “I had a feeling this was bad.”  
“Then why do it?” Catra snapped.

Tab spoke up. “We’re in space weeks to months at a time. Mal, Tom and I have been doin’ this forever. We learned bad news means your mind ain’t on the ship.” Tab sighed. 

“What does that have to do with not telling me I can and need to lose this chip soon?” Catra demanded. 

“We knew we didn’t have the supplies needed! Hell, we’re so low that with your addition, we can barely feed everyone for the time it’s gonna take us to get to Terras!” Tab sighed.  
“Mo-morale.” Mal coughed. “Bad news that you can’t change hurts Morale. Bad morale means more mistakes and when you’re deep in space, that gets ugly.”

“So you didn’t tell me to keep my ‘spirits’ up. Pathetic.” Catra dismissed. “Screw you, Mal.”

“Don’t blame Mal. I made the order years ago.” Tab defended. “Since she handles our route plotting, every piece of information this ship gets, goes through Mal first. So having her be the...dam of knowledge to the outside world always just made the most sense.” 

“She’s our Quartermaster, Catra.” Mog’s voice was soft, but he was glaring at Tab, not Catra, oddly enough. “She minds all of our business so we can focus on the damn boat. She always tells us what we need to know and whom we can talk to take care of it when we’re Planetside. Always. She’s not trying to screw anyone, rather she’s making sure we get to our destination in one piece.” He grunted. “She even takes the heat when arguments pop up so there isn’t too much discord between us.”

Catra frowned at that, remembering the other day at the table. “Mal isn’t a bitch.” She stated, looking at each of them one by one as the realization hit her hard. “You jerks force her to play one.” Moggie and Tab looked away immediately. Tom frowned but said nothing.

“Mal chose that role.” Tab defended. Catra narrowed her eyes.

“You literally said the opposite not even five minutes ago.” Catra growled. “What else are you lying to me about?”

“Jeeze.” Tab put a hand to their neck. “I didn’t think you’d be this much of a loose cannon.”  
“Wait, how the hell am I the problem in all of this!?” Catra snapped.

“Tab,” Tom interrupted, “I don’t think that’s really fair.” Catra was surprised at that, and looked at Tom in a strange way. He smiled. “We should have explained these things to you first. It’s not fair to expect you to understand Malkin’s reasons for withholding information if we don’t explain what has happened in the past.” Catra watched Tab take a deep breath, and release it.

“So you guys really don’t trust me, huh?” Catra just stared in her lap.  
“Kitty,” Mal’s voice was a hoarse whisper, “We didn’t know how you’d react.”  
“Well you didn’t exactly give me a fair chance!”  
“Considering how you did react, I don’t think it’s fair to say we had no reason to be concerned.”  
“That’s circular logic.”

“Grima.” Tab held up their hand. When Mal went quiet, Tab addressed Catra directly. “Look, Kid. We screwed up. Badly.” Tab admitted, “we withheld information, and then we had you find out in the worst way possible.” They scratched their head, then looked to Mal. “Your reaction was warranted. Needlessly extreme, yes, but understandable.”

“Just say ‘sorry’ before you make an ass out of yourself, Manx.” Mal added.

“Argh. Fine. I’m sorry.” Despite the apology, something about Tab seemed combative, their tail flicking angrily. There was a flicker beside them, and Tab tensed. “Careful now Mal.”

“Hush, Manx.” Tab stepped aside, and Catra finally had a good look at Mal. Her eyes were glowing, as if they were alight with flames. “It’s fine. See, Melog is calm now.” Her clothes, from what Catra could see, looked mostly burnt, and there was still this glowing aura around her, in bright fuchsia. Her pants stopped at her mid thigh now revealing that from the knee down her left leg was all metal. Catra gasped, but if Mal noticed, she didn’t say a word. “You aren’t like my Claudine are you?” Mal frowned. “You are definitely magic though,” Mal’s eyes flickered to Catra, “and you are linked to someone with magic, that much is clear.” Gently she pet Melog who cooed, then looked to Catra, confused at Mal’s affection. “Hold still, let me fix you up.” Another circle, another series of runes. Melog was covered in a warm glow and Catra could feel it calming her too. A lot of the ache disappeared, and Tab looked at Catra stunned.

“How’s that possible?” Tab frowned. “Grimalkin?”  
“They’re linked somehow.” Tom agreed. “Mal…”  
“I looked through her stuff thoroughly. There was no shard of the Twilight Topaz.” Mal admitted.

“Wait!” Mog called out, “how is that even possible? She shifted right in front of us!”

“I know.” Mal noted softly, “and Melog doesn’t seem to be an animal in the traditional sense. Me healing her like I did just proves that theory…”

“Melog is a familiar, isn’t she?” Tom frowned. “I thought all the Cait Sith were dead.”  
“Not all of them.” Mal quietly amended. “You know that, Tomas.”  
“Well, yes, but still…”

“Are you a Royal, perhaps?” Tab asked. Everyone’s eyes snapped to the Captain.  
Catra blinked. “A Royal?” Then she giggled. “Like Royalty?”

“Yes.” Tab confirmed. “The Queen wasn’t able to save most of her children. Only the three eldest and her youngest child were left when the Eternians came back. That and her manipulative younger brother.”

Mal frowned. “Princess Lybica has been missing for almost two and a half decades now. Princess Sunda, her twin, hasn’t had live births since she had her daughter, Kittrina. Princess Kittrina would have to be what -- seventeen now?”

Tom agreed. “That rules those three out, I think.” He stroked his beard. “Maybe Prince Devon had a lover and they had a secret child?” He proposed.

Tab shook their head. “I feel like he’d have mentioned that to me when I was in his Force. It was just eleven years ago. Catra would have been nine then and probably stinking cute.” Tab actually cracked a small smile at Catra “he would have shown as many photos of her as he did his baby sister.” Mal scoffed and looked away. Tab glanced over to Mal and smiled gently. Catra looked at them both confused.

“Don’t expect me to help you out here. I don’t even know what my parents look like, nevermind their names or if they were important or something.” Catra shrugged her shoulders, though a possibility did nag at her. “Though, if Panthera has really been at war for as long as you say, isn't it possible that my parents ran to Etheria to protect all of us? Or at least my mother?” 

Tom put a hand to his chin. “There’s actually some validity to that hypothesis. By time Queen C’yra saved four of her children, there was a wariness in the court about obscuring where Royal Members were.” Tom looked to Catra. “I bet only a trusted few knew where Princess Lybica was sent, for example. This would have mostly happened when the youngest Princess was five. Catra wouldn’t have even been born then.”

“Wait, you don’t seriously think I’m like…some sort of Princess?” Catra laughed, “that’s almost as ridiculous as this whole chip thing.”

“Yet it can’t be ruled out. Not yet, anyways.” Tab noted. “Prince Devon having a secret lover, huh?” Tab was looking at Catra up and down, almost as if they were searching her face for clues, definitive proof of some sort of relation. “Here I thought there were no secrets between us when I was his XO on our force.”

Catra’s eyes flicked between the three of them. “Like a Horde Force?” Tab shook their head.  
“Theran Militia. Not Horde.”  
“You were in the military before?”  
Tab gave a lopsided smile and saluted with their left hand. “Major Manx, at your service.”

“Ex-Major Manx.” Mog cut in, making the others turn to him. “Or do you prefer disgraced?”  
“Hey!” Tab frowned. “I resigned. Losing the Prince cut deep, I couldn’t do it anymore.”

“That was after they threatened to kick you out for ‘getting the Prince killed trying to save a traitor’ right?” Mog crossed his arms. “What about the last Royal? The disgraced Princess De’Va? You know Tab, the traitorous baby sister Prince Devon died trying to save?”

“Prince Devon only died because his Uncle, Chief Carnivus sold us to the Eternians to grab power.” Tab shook her head. “Anyone who seriously believes a twelve and a half year old who loved her mother dearly would murder her in cold blood for the throne, then conveniently disappear shortly after so her uncle could “take on the heavy burden” of ruling us is a bloody idiot.” Tab snarled. “De’va is still missing, just like Princess Lybica. They’re probably both dead.”

Mog chucked. “You sound waaay too sure about that.”

“Tomas,” Mal sighed, interrupting Mog. “Let Catra out. If Melog is calm now, so is Catra.” Tom hesitated for a moment but then relented. Catra saw the green walls disappear and soon Melog was by her side, hissing but with no malice. Catra stood now, and could see Mal now wore her leather jacket again, pulled around her tightly. Tab sighed uneasily. Moggie stepped forward.

“If you’d like,” his voice was even, “we can take a look at the chip, maybe see if we can at least disable it for now?” He offered. Catra nodded hesitantly. He turned to Mal, watching as Tab helped her to unsteady feet. “Think you can manage at least that operation, Grimalkin?”

“Not a problem--” Mal took a step. Her face went white, and she collapsed, being scooped up by Tab before she could hit the ground, the Captain’s face drawn and frightening.

“Can you do it yourself, Moggie?” Tab’s voice was a deep growl that made Catra’s hair stand on end and Tom not so subtly put himself between her and Tab.

“I mean, it’ll probably be harder, and we still don’t have all the right supplies but --”  
“Then do it yourself, Mog. I don’t want Catra anywhere near Grima.”  
Moggie huffed at that. “Dude? Seriously?” He hissed. “Now’s not the time to be a territorial shi~”  
“That’s a direct order, Blue.”

Before anyone could say anything else, Tab scooped Mal’s unconscious form and stomped off in the direction of the bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I like to see where people's minds are going I will tell you this:  
> Devon, Sunda, Lybica are all references to different cats. (Devon from Devon Rex, where as the other two are not domesticated cat species :))
> 
> I will also say this for your speculation pleasure: Mal didn't misspeak. What she said was intentional. Take that for what you will.
> 
> Also, for those who might have pieced it together: what Catra thought were weapons in the haze of her anger weren't weapons at all. Mal was keeping those "sticks" within arm's reach for very good reason. If you realized what those sticks actually were -- that is why Tab seems unreasonably angry. 
> 
> Next Chapter teaser:
> 
> Silently, Mal looked her over, appraisingly. “One gold eye and one blue.” She spoke, an echo of Mog mere moments before her arrival. The smile she gave was gentle as she shifted her balance to lean more against the door. “You’re a very beautiful Theran, did you know that?”


	9. “Just point and aim for a fleshy part. You’ll be fine.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armed with their first big clue, Glimmer, Adora and Bow, with Entrapta's help, resolve to go to Catra's last known coordinates.  
> Catra and Grimalkin make a bit of a truce. However, it seems the two are headed into a bit of trouble with the Eternian Patrol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are kind of officially in the second arc of this now. There are essentially three arcs planned. Things are fluid as I'm still writing but I'm having a lot of fun with where I am writing now and hope you guys enjoy it as you see it. As always, feel free to drop me a line, it both motivates me and makes my day :)

Catra,

Angella was there.  
Angella was on this Moon. Maybe you’re with her?  
No. Maybe not. You just got there months ago. Angella’s been gone from Etheria over a year.

You’re probably asking how any of that makes sense, but Glimmer, she found a feather. It seems it was her mother’s. Some people called Adam, Teela and Kittrina took her with them. Adam might know me, somehow.

I wonder if him and Teela are First Ones like me?

Speaking like being someone...Kittrina and the other one Glimmer mentioned called De’va another Princess. They are a lot like you. There’s people like you. Out there, somewhere.

You’re out there somewhere.

Maybe, if the universe is kind, people like them will find you. Maybe they’ll do the right thing and look out for you? Not that you can’t handle yourself, I know you can, but sometimes you take on a little more than you can handle. It’s good to have friends in times like that.

We’re going to take Mara’s ship. We know you aren’t in Despondos, and Glimmer thinks the reason why her tracking spell didn’t work was because of being there. Whatever it takes, we will find you, and then we’ll get you home.

Hold on,  
Adora

*

For whatever reason Moggie insisted that they did the examination on the observation deck. Catra felt vulnerable. After all, a very short while ago she fought with those people, ended up caged, was now released and was having the chip on the back of her neck examined. It was hard to predict what to feel when her feelings had been made to run the gamut. So she stayed as still as possible when Mog asked her to sit down, and instead found her eyes drawn to the sight of a looming orb ahead of them.

“Nice view, isn’t it?” Catra murmured a response, then winced when she felt a shock throughout all of her body. Moggie paused. “Sorry, I’m being careful as I can. I was hoping the view could distract from the unpleasant parts. That there is Terras. We’ll be on there soon.”

“I’ll...get out of everyone’s hair when we land.” Catra’s eyes fell to her lap.

“No one’s saying you got to, okay?” Moggie reassured, adjusting the lens he had over his eye as he went back to work. Catra shuddered. Melog growled in warning. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Tab looked pretty angry.”

“Tabby is super protective of Grimalkin. They’ve been like that since before I joined. Back then it was just Mal, Tab and Tom.” He shrugged simply. “For Tab to be pitching this much of a fit just means Mal’s pretty hurt, but I have a theory that it wasn’t just you roughing her up that did it.”

“It wasn’t?”

“Mal’s tough as nails, but she’s been limping pretty bad on and off for over a month now.” Catra felt another pinch and made a face at it, trying to breathe through. “I’m guessing her leg has been giving her some not so little issues lately. Like an infection. Which is really bad news.” 

“She’s the one you’re making those legs for?” Catra pieced together. She glanced over her shoulder to find Mog nodding, then took a breath when her nerves lit with something akin to fire, her eyes training to the sight of blue and greens and browns and the bright lights of what had to be cities in the darker places.

“She was doing a hell of a lot with something much more low tech when I met her five years ago. If that gave her issues she’d find creative ways to use her crutches. When I modded the Clawdeen-Nu to make it easier for her to pilot, she just lit up at how much freedom it gave her again.” Mog chuckled. “That’s when I knew she desperately needed a better leg.” The sticks by Mal’s desk in the infirmary came back to mind. The fact that they looked like they were meant to bear weight and were kept in Mal’s arms reach made Catra realize.

“I hit her with her own crutches.” There was a certain level of horror to that realization.

“Yep. That’s why Tab’s especially pissed.” Moggie confirmed. “You don’t mess with someone’s mobility aids. Well, not if you want most decent people to not think of you as an asshole.” Catra shuddered at that news.

“It was literally adding insult to injury.” Catra frowned remembering earlier that day, “She could hardly climb the stairs out of my bunk this morning. I’m an idiot.”

“I’m sure when everyone cools their heads, you can say sorry and we’ll all be fine. This isn’t the first time the crew has had a bad spat.” Mog promised, “no one here is much for holding grudges for long.” There was a jolt. Catra almost cried out, but she felt Mog’s hand on her shoulder as she breathed through it. He was leaning forward now, smiling.

“What?”  
“Beautiful. One gold eye. One blue.”   
“Is the chip gone?”

“Inactive. And should be permanently so. I can reprogram it as well so you can use a Dummy Plug like the others.” He paused, “but I want to respect your wishes and try removing it first, though I must warn you, if it doesn’t go well, um….”

This is what Catra was dreading. There was always a catch to things. “What is it?”

“You can end up paralyzed. Or worse.” That voice. Catra turned to find Mal leaning heavily against the doorway, her body tilted to the right, her hands holding onto her forearm crutches. Silently, Mal looked her over, appraisingly. “One gold eye and one blue.” She spoke, an echo of Mog mere moments before her arrival. The smile she gave was gentle as she shifted her balance to lean more against the door. “You’re a very beautiful Theran, did you know that?”

Catra blushed. “Thanks.” The smile she had wavered when she smelled blood again. Mal’s.

“Do you still want to leave?” Mal asked calmly. There was no clear indication of the blood. Her face was bandaged. She wore her collar loose now, instead of like a choker. Beneath it there were bandages covering her neck. Catra’s eyes went lower to the now missing left leg. She was in shorts, allowing Catra to see there were bandages on that thigh, and they were pink. “You don’t have to answer that now. We’ll get the supplies anyways. Having them on hand can’t possibly hurt.” Mal began to shift to head out of the room.

“Wait, your leg!”  
“I’m giving it a break. I can’t use crutches down there. That’s just asking to get mugged.”  
“I’m so sorry.”  
“Don’t be.” Came a flippant response. “It’s not like you can bring the real one back, can you?”  
“But…”

Mog spoke up. “If it’s at the point of bleeding, walking around is only going to make it worse.”

“Let me worry about that Mog, will you?” Mal sighed, “I need to meet our contacts.”  
“Let Tab deal with that! Lynx knows the Captain owes you that much for their screw up.”  
“With the state of Bloodlust Manx is in?” Mal chuckled, “I’d like everyone to live, thanks.”  
“Mal, I’m sure someone else can do it for once!”

Catra sighed, closing her eyes as the two of them began to bicker again. Mog had walked up to her and began to speak in hushed but frantic tones and Mal’s own voice simply sounded irritated. In her mind's eye she was on another ship...

Glimmer tripped over her words, fumbling as though her brain needed time to catch up, “...all we can do is just do better. Be better.”

“You really think it’s that easy?”

“I think it’s the opposite of easy.” Glimmer shook her head. “Think of it. Every moment. Everything we choose to do decides who we are and are becoming. Every action, no matter how small, plays a role in that.”

Catra found herself drifting back to the present.

“....never walk! Is that what you want?”  
“Mal?” she called out, shuddering at what she thought she heard Mog say -- something about never being able to walk. She shook it away when they both turned to her. “Let me go with you. I can give you a hand with things.”

Those golden eyes widened. “Are you sure?”

“No.” Catra watched Mal for a long moment, as her expression became guarded. “But...it can’t hurt to try to make things better?” Mal awkwardly spun herself around and sighed.

“I’ll get you planet side on my personal craft. You can do whatever you want then.” Mal paused uncomfortably, “I only have one request. Humour me. Visit a place with some people I know.”

“Sure thing.”  
“Meet me in the hangar in an hour.”

*

Glimmer was still shaking. She was shaking when Bow and Adora found her, and now, on the other side of the portal, she sat on a metal crate, staring blankly, her body a trembling mess. Adora is trying hard not to scowl, to be as encouraging as possible, to not panic as she calls her friend’s name for what had to be the hundredth time and have Glimmer look right through her.

Bow on the other hand? If someone could both be calm and panic, it would have to be him.

“Hey, we’re getting the ship ready!” Bow gave a strained smile at Glimmer’s vague grunt, then gently reached for her hand and squeezed. Glimmer pulled her hand away. “Glimmer, please.”

“What do you think those people did to her?” The way Glimmer’s voice dropped at the word people made Adora stiffen, especially when those magenta eyes landed on her. 

“Maybe they’re just trying to help Angella?” Bow offered.

“They were armed!” Glimmer stressed, “They didn’t outright threaten her, but, Bow if you saw it, you’d know that wasn’t the actions of someone who intended to be friendly.”

Bow sighed. “Glimmer, you’re mother is strong and~”

“What if she’s dead now?” Glimmer’s eyes widened at that. Adora froze. “What if she had managed to survive all this time and all of our back and forth with Horde Prime means now it's too late!”

“Glimmer!” Adora couldn’t take it anymore. She rushed over to the Princess, turned Queen, and grabbed her hands, squeezing them. “You can’t think like that. We don’t know anything for sure!”

“Well, sitting here discussing it isn’t going to bring her back,” Glimmer hissed, pulling her hands away and added in a smaller voice “or what’s left of her.”

Bow frowned with worry. “Glimmer, come on.” He paused. “Maybe we should tell Micah and~”

“No!” Glimmer’s expression grew dark. “We’re not telling my Dad.” She expanded, shaking her head. “Right now he knows Mom is gone. He’s mourning that, and the years we lost -- I know it’s not easy for him.” Glimmer bit her lower lip. “The last thing I want to do is tell him she might not be and then find out we were wrong!”

Adora recoiled like she was stung, Bow lowered his head. “Micah can help us though. With the spell work or something? The locator spell you mentioned?”

“I’ll look through what we’ve recovered from Mystacor’s libraries. I’m sure there’s a book.”  
“What about Castaspella?” Bow tried. “If we ask her about the spell, or the book, maybe~”

“No. She’ll tell Dad. I know she will.” Glimmer protested. “And then I’ll have to watch him grapple with all of that, and if we’re wrong…” Glimmer couldn’t finish.

“So we’re really going to keep this to ourselves?” Adora asked plaintively. Glimmer nodded. Bow sighed. “It might be for the best, Bow. Think of how Micah was when he found out Glimmer had grown up and was Queen back when we were on Beast Island. Do you think he could do that again?” Bow simply sighed, shaking his head. 

“Fine.” His lips twitched into a small smile when Glimmer leaned over and wrapped her arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“Thanks Adora. Bow.”

Adora gave an uneasy smile. “You’re welcome.”

“I have good news!” Entrapta declared. The three of them perked up, and she scooted over to them then directed them to the screen. “The energy readings Bow gave me of that piece of crystal that was missed did have enough energy to power something like a portal.”

“So she made another one.” Adora stood awed.  
“Yes! I’ve been analyzing what she built -- it mostly used parts from my portable portal maker -- but it was powered by this crystal this~”

“Twilight Topaz.” Glimmer filled in.

“Huh, I’ll have to put that in the Data Log. Twilight Topaz.” Entrapta grinned. “As we guessed, it’s got the power of First One’s tech. Most likely because it is a type of First One’s tech. The portal shows Catra teleported to these coordinates, however, I’m seeing an energy source similar to what she used several lightyears away at these coordinates.” Entrapta showed them up on the computer. Glimmer frowned.

“It’s the rest of the shards. It has to be. They’re with De’va.”  
“The one who met up with Adam?” Bow asked.  
“Yes. If we track those, we’ll find her. If we find her...”

“Maybe we might find Angella.” Adora agreed. “We’ll focus on that.”

“Are you sure, Adora?” Glimmer’s eyes fell to the ground. “What about Catra?”

“We’ll check those coordinates first, but if we don’t find anything, we might as well go on our next lead.”

*

“Wait, wait, wait! You’re going to crash into that building and kill us all!” Catra’s hands held tight to the arm rests. She was white knuckled and crammed into the back of the craft with a quiet Claudine who curled up tight under the seat. Meelog was instead in her lap, her glow a sickly yellow, ears drooping. Catra could feel her stomach fall as they careened faster and faster towards the earth. Catra practically shrieked when an alarm sounded with loud beeping.

“Terrain. Terrain. Pull up. Pull up.”

“Mal!”

“We’re fine.” Catra couldn’t see her eyes, only the back of her neck where her collar had been pushed aside to fit a dummy plug. Even if she could see Mal’s face, she was wearing a pair of dark tinted goggles right now. Her bruises? None of them could be seen now. Catra wasn’t sure if that was magic, or makeup. “We’re just going to hang a tight left. We’re not even going that fast right now.” 

“You call this slow!” Catra felt her stomach turn when Mal pulled up, and they barely passed between two buildings by going nearly completely sideways. There were literally feet between the side of the building and the wings. If this was a calmer flight, Catra would be fascinated. Instead she was trying hard not to be sick. 

“This is a tiny little hopper.” Mal announced as she leveled the wings. “Now if we were trying that in Purrsia, I could see your concern.”

“You could see my concern!? We almost ended up on the side of a building!”  
“The wingspan is forty. We had about ninety between those towers. Plenty of space. I don’t see the issue.”

“You don’t see the,” her stomach did not agree with a sudden lurch. Meelog looked at her panicked and Mal sighed. “Problem? Do you have a death wish?”

“If you’re going to be sick, don’t mess up my craft. There’s a bag in the seat pocket. Use that.”  
“Oh thank Etheria.”

“To answer your question, I do sometimes, and hold tight.” Catra saw Mal glance over a shoulder. ”Seems we caught some unwanted attention.”

Catra had just lifted her head after retching. “What are you talking about -- AAH!”

They took off. Catra felt herself pressed flat against the seat. Everything around her was a blur, but they caught up and Catra could see them. Sleek, blue and black ships. She heard a low, emanating growl from Mal.

“They were so much more hands off six months ago. Not good.”  
“Who are they?”  
“Eternians. The messenger bag I threw back there — do you have it?”  
“It’s with Claudine.”

“Good. A ship like mine stands out being Fuchsia and all.” Mal’s laugh was bright and airy despite the situation. “Either we play nice or hope I can break, get far far away from them to not be able to track us down again and then park the Clawdeen-Nu somewhere that they won’t notice with the camouflage on.” Mal ran a hand over her face quickly, “finding us on foot in the capital unless they know where to look will be a fool's errand but that requires us to lose them first.” A beep from the console and Mal hit a button.

“Modified Military class dogfighter,” came a booming voice, “this is the Terras Eternian Patrol. Identify yourself and who you’re associated with immediately.”

“Hey guys.” Mal’s voice sounded off. “I’m just a friendly neighbourhood runner with the Cymric Cooperative. Sorry about the showing off.” She sounded a little too sweet, “I’m an ex-Theran fighter pilot. I got a little excited sitting in my craft after a long trip and wanted to have a little fun with our noob. Didn’t mean to scare you y’all.”

“Your craft has illegal weaponry, we’ll need to inspect it and your papers.” Came the response. Mal cussed under her breath.

“We go into hot spots with known pirate activity and formerly Horde Controlled areas. Captain Manx registered to have me cleared for this craft. If you give me your Data code and frequency, I can send you my Digidocs right now.”

“We request that you land immediately.”  
“Fuck.” Mal whispered, then loudly said, “Cool, thanks! Just give me a spot to land.”  
“Sending coordinates now.”

There was a painful pause where Mal muted the comm and glanced over her shoulder to Catra. With her right hand she gestured. She brought her knuckle to her mouth and lightly bit it. Catra looked at her confused. Mal sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Right, you didn’t grow up with other Therans.” Mal had her attention taken by the light from her comm. “Those coordinates they just gave us are in the middle of bumfuck nowhere.”

“Why? Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to be near something like one of their bases?”

“It would.” Mal’s breathless laugh sent a chill down Catra’s spine. “If we’re anywhere as dangerous as they seem to imply we might be -- given that they need to book us instead of taking a glance at our Digital Documents -- they’d be able to get back up if they sent us near their base. Out there they have absolutely nothing.”

“Meaning?” There was a long pause from Mal, giving Catra time to put it together, an unsettling conclusion. “They must think they can take us easily.”

“That’s my thought too,” Mal admitted, “and it has me rather concerned.”

“They’re isolating us.” Catra picked up quickly. “Why?”  
“I said ‘we’ so they know I’m not flying alone.” Mal was scowling, “they want something.”  
“Like?”

“I have some guesses. None good.” Came a flippant response. “All involving abuses of power and a miserable few hours if they don’t shoot us between the eyes. Normal, unfortunately.” 

“So this is a very bad thing for us then?” Catra was beginning to sweat. “What do they want to do to us that they don’t want other patrols noticing? Or at the very least want no witnesses for?”

“Now you’re getting it.” Mal fumbled around at the small of her back and there was a click. She reached backwards awkwardly. “Here.” Catra reached over and found warm leather and metal pressed into hands. “If they get near you…”

“You’re giving me your gun?”  
“Just point and aim for a fleshy part. You’ll be fine.”  
“You want me to kill them?” Catra shook her head. “I can’t do that!”  
“Not kill them, hurt them. If they bleed out in the desert before help comes, it's a bonus.”

“That’s the same th -- wait,” Catra’s argument fell to the wayside, “They’re sending us to a desert? The last time someone sent me to a desert, it was with the intent that I never left it.”

“Probably the same idea going on here to be honest.” Mal chuckled lowly. “The Blue Desert, or as the locals call it, the Blue Beast.” their ship tipped to the left and Catra could see the vast, bright blue sand growing more and more vast. “Sudden storms that will displace metric tons of sand in mere hours burying everything. Blue sand so acidic it’ll turn a body into bleached bones in three days. A murderer’s paradise.”

“Oh crap. They want to kill us.” Catra could feel the pit of her stomach sinking. “We’re going to die here. After everything I’ve been through, all the times I could have died with all the people I could have been with at the time and I’m in the middle of some galaxy I don’t know on a planet I’ve never seen and about to be killed in a desert with you of all people.” A pause. “Sorry?”

“Oh, true love!” Came a snarky reply. Mal hit another button and spoke quickly. “This is Four. We’ve hit patrol. Requesting a scout to connect.” A pause. “Broadcasting coordinates. Over.”

A beep. Mal spun her attention back to the ships now flanking them. She forced a smile into her voice at the hail and answered it. “Hey there boys!”

“Everything alright? You went dark on the radio.”

“Peachy. I was just explaining some things about Patrol Inspections and merch to the noob. Sorry about that. Didn’t think you’d care for the idle chatter as I played teach.”

“Did you get the coordinates?” The man sounded agitated, Catra noted.

“Received. See you there.” She shut off the comm and Catra poked her head over into the cockpit, noticing their swift descendance and reaching for the bag again.

“Is there a way this could not be a bad thing?” Catra was racking her brain for something that could lead to this being favourable. “No offence, but I don’t exactly want to die in your arms.”

“None taken.” Mal glossed, “I’ve held enough dead family to last a lifetime.” She added that last part very quietly, more a murmur to herself. Catra said nothing in response. How could she respond in a way that didn’t seem to attempt to cheapen the gravity of that sentiment? “That depends on a few factors. Whose colours they fly, for example.”

“Aren’t they all just Eternians?”

“Yes, but you have King Randor’s Imperialists who are trying to fill Horde Prime’s shoes and the Friends of Mara. The Imperialists think they’re doing us all a favour, bringing stability again, or whatever flavour of bullshit rhetoric they’re using for the day.”

“Yeah. Having two random Therans murdered is totally doing everybody favour.” Catra snorted. Mal was very quiet and it freaked her out. “What? Just say it!”

“Not so random.” Mal admitted. “Therans not allied with Chief Carnivus are considered threats.”  
“Great. That’s...us isn’t it?” Catra was beginning to sweat as the sand got closer and closer.

“He allied with Randor, declared himself Monarch and decreed anyone who didn’t support this was a Persona Non Grata, stripped of their rights as Therans and can be killed on sight.”

“So…” Catra held the gun tightly in hand, “How do we not get ourselves killed?”

“We show his Rune to prove we’re a part of his Tribe.” A pause. “All of us refuse to use it.”  
“Not even for cover in a situation like this?”  
“Of course not.” She sounded bitter. “That thing isn’t worth the magic it powers.”  
“But you know what the Rune is, don’t you?” Catra sighed. “Tab says honour gets you killed.”  
“Of course I know what the bloody Rune is! Don’t you DARE bring the Captain into this!”

Catra glared at the back of her head. “Can’t you just use your magic then? Pretend to be one of this “Tribe” thing for five minutes so they’ll let us go.” Catra proposed, “so we don’t die?”

“I have standards.” Mal hissed. “I’d rather die a proud Monarch Revisionist than pose as a faction who willingly supports a man that framed a twelve year old for her mother’s murder.” 

“Excellent! So we’re going to die because of your pride! Thanks!”

“It’s the principal of it!” They touched down and Catra could feel a new sickness gnawing at her stomach. That of anxiety and uncertainty. “Look, I know you think I’m a little soft and dumb because I haven’t a hard childhood like you and the Captain and all that,” Mal was unbuttoning her shirt, one, two, three, a fourth, “supposedly.” Mal smoothed out the shirt, and pushed her breasts up, adjusting the straps on her bra, “I mean, I never knew what it was like to struggle, right?” In the reflection of the glass, Catra blushed when she noticed a hint of a black bra visible beneath the shirt, and Mal’s cleavage on full display. “but there are some things out in these parts that you can never budge on, death be damned.”

“I never said you never had it tough!” Was Mal crazy? Was she seriously just doing this to prove a point? Catra didn’t know, but she was going to talk her down if that was what this is. She didn’t sign up for this. “I’m sure you’ve experienced your own hardship, whatever that was. I’d be happy to even go over that with you, but we can’t do that if we’re both dead. I’m speaking as someone who always found a way to survive -- getting us killed to prove you’re not soft cause you were the golden child of the family does nothing to help us understand each other.” 

“I’m not going to get us killed. I’m not an idiot.” Mal hissed, “but you do have a point.”  
“Now, can you please consider using that blasted Rune so they think we’re their allies?”

“No.” Mal ripped off her goggles violently. “I got a few tricks, Kitty, believe it or not. If anyone is out of her element around here, it’s you.” Catra put her head in her hands and groaned loudly.

“We’re gonna die.”

“We’ll be fine.” Mal reached into the pocket of her leather jacket and pulled out two tubes. She rolled a clear one on her lips first, then followed that with a deep, dark red lipstick, puckering and checking in a compact mirror she fished out of her pocket to make sure it was even. “Don’t do anything until I give you a signal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear the Quote of the Chapter (QOTC) was partially chosen because I can imagine how much flippancy is in each and every word. It came across as a line Malcom Reynolds would say and I couldn't resist putting it in.
> 
> What does the Patrol want? Bad things.  
> How does Mal know? She's been around the block, unfortunately.  
> Why is Mal so against trying to even appear as one of the 'Tribe'? Well, I think the reason for that might be obvious...
> 
> She does exactly what Tab says not to do! She has pride in her morals! (Okay, there's more to it than that. Keen eyed readers I feel like you might have already picked up on it, but what's obvious to the author is not necessarily obvious to you. :))
> 
> Next Chapter:
> 
> “You have a brand on your collar bone too. That’s what they noticed, wasn’t it?” Catra realized what the men had been talking about earlier. “You were in the Dens. Like Tom.”
> 
> “I was.” Mal’s answer was very short and clipped. “And?”


	10. “Did you really have to shoot them?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra is shaken up by Eternian corruption and their Anti-Theran sentiment. She's not sure what to think now.  
> Mal decides it is time for a little bloodshed and enjoys herself a little too much. She's not sorry.
> 
> Adora, Glimmer and Bow with Entrapta's help find themselves closing in on the Twilight Topaz.  
> Too bad they never plan their next move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW:
> 
> There has been hints of it here and there very lightly if you read closely into it, but I think this chapter makes it VERY clear that the Theran "Dens" that the crew of the Purrsia keep mentioning disdainfully are prostitution and trafficking circles backed by Eternians.
> 
> Also content warning for implied sexual violence, murder and discussions of murder.
> 
> And with this chapter, we start to see a glimpse of the more morally grey parts of the crew of the Purrsia. Mal in particular.  
> We also get to see a little into what makes her tick. (Spoiler alert: its Trauma.)

Catra,

We’re closer than ever. I feel it. I can sense it. I haven’t felt this energetic in years. Bow, Glimmer Entrapta and I are on our way and I couldn’t be more excited.

Do you remember when we were kids how we talked about seeing more than the Fright zone?  
After some time back home, how does seeing more of Space sound?

Really seeing it. No Horde Prime threat. No more you being missing. Just us and everything the universe has to offer.

Always thinking of you,  
Adora

*

Something was very wrong with this picture. They were far away from civilization. Very far. Not a town or settlement in sight. The hot light blue sand underneath Catra’s feet only made her feel at edge. Choosing some place this remote just to look over documentation? Mal was right. It didn’t add up. Catra knew this already. Mal and her discussed it, but now the reality was hitting her again, and again, hard.

There were about five hundred meters between their ship and the Clawdeen-Nu. Mal hesitated but saw them make a gesture and looked to Catra with wide golden eyes then, she began walking ahead. Catra hesitated when she heard Melog whimper in protest.

“Leave her.” Mal called quietly, very hushed and Catra realized why: the Eternians couldn’t hear as well as a Theran could. They had a brief window to talk before they got closer to the patrol.

“Are you stupid? We outnumber them! We should make that clear and take them out!”

“We’ll get shot.” Mal countered. “Dumb flexes just give them excuses to overreact before we can do anything. They only know about me not being alone. If we just show them you and me, they’ll be none the wiser. Show them that we have Melog and Claudine now and we lose advantage.”

“But how are Melog and Claudine going to know when to help us?” Catra whispered, rushing to catch up with Mal. Her steps were uneven on the left, about a quarter of her stride shorter. “Mal, if you have a plan, now would be a VERY good time to share.” As they approached, the Eternians came more into view and so did their strange, trapezoid like ship. Catra noticed their blond hair and blue eyes and couldn’t help but think that they looked a little like Adora.

They stopped. Mal seemed fidgety, leaning left then right but never really putting much weight on her left leg. The heat around them was intense and Mal was in her trademarked all black outfit, long sleeves and all. She had to be roasting, and her leg…

Catra gulped as she reached for the gun in the holdster at her side. Now she understood. Mal’s leg was in bad shape. Running from them wasn’t going to be an option for her, would it? And if Mal can’t run, what does this mean about her fighting ability right now? They needed every advantage they could get then, including having the element of surprise.

“Is this all of you who were in that craft?” spoke the Eternian on the left.  
“Yes.” Mal lied easily, flipping her hair. “We were arranging for our main ship’s docking.”

Catra didn’t like the way the men leered at Mal. They made a proud display of their weapons, a gun at their right hips, a hand on their waists, hovering over it. It was them practically declaring that they were armed and ready to turn violent with little provocation. They hadn’t gotten close enough to notice underneath Mal’s jacket was another holster with a knife. Mal hadn’t made a move to reach for it either. The Eternian men smirked, and one licked their lips as they looked Mal up and down and it made Catra’s skin crawl.

“How much do you two charge?” Asked the Eternian on the left.  
“Charge for what?” Catra snapped immediately. Mal’s quick glare seemed to say “shut up”.  
“Ooh, innocent, are we? I kind of like the more innocent ones.”

“Is there such a thing as an innocent Theran?” Asked the second Eternian. “Give them coins and they’ll still spread their legs.” Catra glared daggers at him.

“Gentlemen, please,” Mal’s voice was like silk, she purred, handing over a couple of small booklets. “I didn’t know such esteemed Eternian men had such deviant tastes.”

“Well, one can certainly stand for the exotic every once in a while when you’re far from home. I hear you Therans are pretty wild little beasts.” Catra growled. Mal jabbed her between the ribs with an elbow sharply. The first man winked, then took the booklets, his eyes never leaving Mal’s breasts. “You know, you’re almost as stunning as that Theran Princess. What was her name again? The one who went missing as a teenager after she murdered her mother?” Mal’s jaw clenched. “The little savage.” He turned to his colleague who looked over Mal’s paperwork as well.

“Princess Diva?” The second man questioned. 

“The Princess’ name is pronounced “Day-vah,” Mal corrected sharply. Catra couldn’t help but feel Mal seemed almost annoyed by how her tail flicked, “much like how her older brother, His Late Majesty was ‘Day-von’ it’s stressed differently from how the Eternian name Devon is pronounced.” Mal stressed, then forced herself into a charming smile. “Fun fact.”

“Yeah, that, whatever.” The man shrugged. “They said Diva ended up on Terras for a while. You are too young though. The missing Princess should be about twenty-eight by now. Not to mention she was an odd eyed Theran like your friend over there.” He gestured to Catra’s mismatched eyes. “You’re just twenty-five, little miss?”

“Yes.” Mal confirmed. “I’m quite flattered that such handsome Eternian men think little old me is almost as beautiful as our missing Princess.” Mal purred. She strode up to the first man, who Catra noticed, kept looking at Mal like she was a piece of meat. “Keeping things orderly must be difficult.” The man nodded.

“Very stressful.” His partner looked at him in shock, when he gripped Mal by the bicep, pulling her close, and pressing his lips against hers. She didn’t pull away, instead cupping his cheek.

“Dude, you have a fiancé!”

“What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her. Besides, how often do you get the chance to have a Theran this good looking without paying the price at the high end Dens?” The first man turned back to Mal. She fluttered her eyelashes, and smirked at him, a small twist at the left side of her lips, “What do I have to do to get you to entertain us both?”

Mal cozied up to him, reaching for his hand and placing it on her hip. “I’m in heat, actually,” her voice dropped to a low purr as she spoke. The man grinned. “I’m good to go whenever.”

“I hear in your heat you can be so desperate that someone like me can be as rough as he wants and it wouldn’t matter.”

“It’s true.” Mal let a finger draw against his sternum. “Eternian men don’t have the same bestial strength, so you couldn’t possibly kill me by accident.” Mal chuckled low, throaty, “You can do whatever you want to me, be as rough as you’d like, mmm, draw blood even,” she leaned against him more, lips by his ear, “and I’ll love it all. Every second of it.” She whispered.

“What about my buddy?” Catra felt dread when the first man looked at her. Mal quickly grabbed him by the chin and turned his attention back to her forcefully.

“Both of you can have me as long as you want. You can even enjoy me together if you’d like — but the girl is off limits.” Mal’s claw gently tapped against his jugular. Seduction and threat wrapped together. He swallowed hard, equal parts arousal and fear. He kissed her lips again and bit them. Mal’s intake of breath was sharp. She poked him gently with her claw. “That isn’t negotiable, lovely.” She murmured breathlessly when they broke apart.

“What is she, your little sister?” The man asked.  
“Very underaged.” Mal answered sharply, her eyes hardened.  
“I find that hard to believe! You only seem to be a few years older than she is!”  
“I have excellent pedigree.” Mal smoothed quickly. “I got it from my Mother.”

“Come on, she can’t be that young! Even if she were, the Dens have Theran girls much younger than she is. It’s what you guys like. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“You’ve got far too stable a job to throw it away going after jail bait,” her finger landed underneath his chin, “or does your beloved King Randor allow that sort of thing now? How perverse.” Mal tilted her head, both eyebrows raising. “Honey,” Catra had a sense that Mal was talking to her, and Catra finally really looked at Mal and tried not to feel sick when she noticed the man was fumbling with his belt, “how about you hang out in our ship for a while? I’ll have a nice chat with these men for a little bit and we’ll be on our way.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea~”

“Honey,” there was now an edge in Mal’s voice, though she smiled sweetly, “please take a nap now. I need to talk to these NICE men for a little while.”

Wait. That was the cue, wasn’t it? Time to get Melog and Claudine. Preferably before they started doing anything untoward to Mal.

Reluctantly, Catra turned around and headed towards the ship. It didn’t sit right with her, especially at how forced Mal’s laugh seemed. Out of the corner of her eye Catra noticed the man she was near tugging hard at her hair and crushing his lips against Mal’s again. Then he was shoving the jacket off her shoulders and pushing her to kneel in the sand. Alarm bells rang at the entire wrongness of the situation as she moved to the ship a bit quicker. Her breath caught and Melog jumped out of the Clawdeen-Nu, while Claudine merely peered over the edge. Catra’s hands tightened as she pet Melog’s head, and shivered at the dialog she heard behind her.

“Do-don’t be like that,” Mal‘s pants sounded pained, “or you’re going to ruin your own fun.”

Catra blanched. “Melog, let’s go.” She looked to see a pink mane. “You too Claudine. We’re going to ambush them and~”

“You have a brand!” The sound of something hitting flesh, a sharp scream from Mal that she quickly stifled. “A bonafide Lioness, eh? You know your kind belongs to the Den owners.” A grunt of pain. Mal’s grunt. “Are you a runaway?”

“No, no, I’m not!” Mal sounded panicked. “I was bought from the Den by a patron! Eleven years ago. My documents show my new ownership. Check them yourself!”

“We’ll have plenty of time to do that after we're done with you.” The man chuckled. Mal made a strange noise that set Catra on edge. A sort of yelp. Something in Catra’s head screamed that it wasn’t a good sound, and she ushered Claudine out of the ship just as everything went silent.

“Is something wrong, soldier boy?” Mal sounded smug. The shift was as sudden as it was odd.

“You bitch!” It was the second man. Catra sprinted across the hot blue sand, Melog and Claudine on either side. “what did you do to him?”

“I like it when me and a client can have a little fun. He liked kissing a lot.”

“You’re no Lioness.” He was charging Mal now. “You’re a fucking ~” two gun shots went off. Catra came skidding to a stop, not sure what just happened. The second man fell into the sand, still. Mal rose to her feet, brushing blue sand off her knees and now sporting holes in her dark jeans -- the silver of her left knee glinting in the sunlight. Claudine caught up to her mistress and growled at the first man who clung to Mal like a baby did their mother.

“Your first mistake?” Mal’s voice was cold, “Showing you had no self control, hedonistic pigs.”

As Catra drew in closer, she found Mal holding the gun in her gloved hand. A gun Catra quickly realized was one of the Eternian soldier’s. Mal’s face was expressionless as she calmly put the gun in the first man’s hand. His unfocused eyes told Catra he wasn’t quite fully aware. He still clung to Mal, biting her neck hard and he was whispering something incoherent. Mal hardly flinched as she untangled from him, and raised his hand to his temple. 

“Why don’t you give that a nice squeeze, sweetie?” a faint glow surrounded Mal as she spoke the words softly, seductively to him, “I promise it’ll feel SO good.”

It went off. He fell over. Mal’s expression was just as blank as she stared at the body at her feet. Claudine whimpered and nuzzled against Mal’s leg and Mal ignored her.

“Murder-suicide.” Mal explained in that same cold voice, fixing up her hair with her fingers and picking her jacket up from the hot blue sand. She shook it free of the grains before slipping it over her shoulders and walking to Catra, Claudine hot on her heels and looking downtrodden. “If someone connects our presence here to their deaths and we get tracked down and pulled into questioning by the authorities, only mention that one of them seemed inebriated when we dealt with them, understand?” Catra looked at her like she had two heads but nodded. “They’ll say he was tripping on Red Sand. We should clear before their unit notices they’re off route.”

Catra gaped at her. “You just~” She shook her head. “Red Sand?”

“A hallucinogenic. Makes Eternians violent. They don’t know it affects Therans differently. It’s still a very new drug to them. The Blades of Maud control both info and the trade on it.”

“You have connections to the Blade of Maud.” A nod. Catra worked the words out. “And you killed those Eternian Patrol officers…”

“So?” Mal glanced over at her handiwork, face still blank. “They made my skin crawl.”  
“Don’t you think killing them was a little much?”

“Why should I?” Mal dismissed as she slipped her jacket back on, sighing, and sniffing it deeply. A content smile pulled at her lips. She reached over to scratch Claudine behind the ear. “They didn’t make my jacket stink and the sand didn’t ruin it. I just got it back with my favourite scent.”

Catra got into the ship and shuddered as Mal casually picked up her goggles and reapplied her lipstick. There was a heavy stillness between the four of them. Mal stared out blankly ahead, as if she wasn’t in her own body. Mal just sat there, petting Claudine’s mane for what had to have been at least five minutes before she finally started the engine again.

“You have a brand on your collar bone too. That’s what they noticed, wasn’t it?” Catra realized what the men had been talking about earlier. “You were in the Dens. Like Tom.”

“I was.” Mal’s answer was very short and clipped. “And?”

“Nothing, just, was that why you were okay with them~” Mal slapped the console in front of her loudly and spun around to stare Catra down. Catra shrank in the chair, suddenly all too aware that she was in the middle of a world that frightened her.

“I was a Lioness. Correct.” There it was. That coldness. “I was forced into it. Sold like property. No. Like a toy.” It was so unlike the Mal that Catra had seen before now. It was disturbing, how bloodlust seemed to radiate off her. “I was thirteen, stupid and scared. My Uncle said no one would believe me and no one would help. He watched for his own jollies then let them take me away to the Dens. They were the four most miserable years of my life.” Mal’s golden eyes were bright and menacing. “Got something smart to say about my supposedly not so challenging childhood, Kitty?”

“No I just~”

“Was wondering if that’s why I was okay with how they looked at me? That’s what you were going to ask, wasn’t it?” Catra found her mouth ran dry. “I’m nothing but a toy to them.” Mal turned around. Her voice softened. “I’ve learned to treat what they want from me as my tool, my power.” Mal sighed. “They’re my prey, like they deserve.”

There was an awkward silence as Mal took off and they began to climb. Catra watched with sickening dread as she noticed the patrol ship and the bodies become smaller and smaller.

“That’s…” Catra found her voice again, “still murder.”  
“Of course it is.” Mal snorted. “I’m mad, Kitty, not ignorant.” Mal’s golden eyes glinted.

“I’m not sure I can be okay with that.” Catra’s hands curled on her lap. “They didn’t do anything warrenting murder. They were gross and awful, but they didn’t actually...”

“Not sure anything could possibly ‘warrant murder’ but their type, in my honest opinion, certainly come damn close.” Mal waved off. “I’ve just decided to stop caring about others’ morals.”

“Doesn’t that make you no better than them?” Catra tried to reason, frowning. “I mean, if it was for revenge, I’d get it. But it’s not. This is you showing your strength. It’s a display of power, and proving you’re somehow above it all.”

“It is.” Mal’s smile was disturbed. “Remember when I said none of us were complete monsters?”  
Catra could feel a sheen of sweat on her forehead. “I do.”  
“I never once said none of us weren’t damn close.” Mal’s tone was playful.  
Catra wrapped her arms around herself. “What would the Captain say about that if I told them?”

“Yeah, Kitty, no dice.” Mal snorted. “Stop making assumptions. About me. About Tab. About everyone. Just observe without assuming. It’s going to help you a lot. Tab’s no stranger to me playing dirty. That’s what you do out in the Verse if you want to live long enough to see forty.”

There was another pause as Mal sighed, long and shuddering as she hummed a soft song.

“What about...when it’s someone you want to be with? Is it just a tool still?” Catra wasn’t sure what caused her to ask that now to switch gears from the topic of literal murder to romantic relationship, “You have a collar. You’re married, aren’t you? To Tom? Your collars match.”

“Didn’t I just say not to make assumptions?” Mal’s chuckle was sultry. “You’re absolutely hopeless, Kitty.” She snorted. “I am married, yes, and when and under what circumstances we have sex is frankly none of your damn business.” Catra’s mouth snapped shut, her cheeks burned furiously. “Curious about anything else?” Catra shook her head. “Good.”

As they began to see the cityscape again, Catra asked. “Did you really have to shoot them?”

“Cutting them up, as satisfying as that would have been, would have been far too bloody. Not worth the trouble of cleaning up and hoping you don’t miss a spot.” Mal shrugged her shoulders. 

“Couldn’t you have just maimed them?”

“If I did that, they would know our faces.” Mal chuckled. “Besides, if it weren’t me they pulled over, they would have taken advantage of some poor girl far less equipped to handle bastards like them. They got what they deserved.” Mal sighed, heavily, Catra noticed, rubbing her throat, her hand lingering on the collar. “Let’s get resupplied and leave the planet before the authorities start sniffing. I really don’t want to hear Tab ream me out for making things difficult.”

Catra nodded, and Melog glowed blue and curled up on her lap. Claudine crammed herself into the passenger seat with Melog and Catra. Claudine kept grooming Melog, seemingly anxious and perturbed and only settling after Catra started petting both of them. After several moments of silence, Catra found the worry was gnawing at her, especially when she noticed how stiff Mal’s shoulders were, how her smooth control now seemed a little more jerky.

“Hey...you’re very tense.” There was no answer. Catra frowned. “Mal, are you okay?”

“I’m just fine, Kitty.”

“For what it’s worth,” Catra stared at her lap, “Thanks for protecting me back there.” Catra tried instead. “I’m not sure how I would handle it if I had to, well...” There was a silence, then a sigh. Catra tried yet again. “I really appreciate it. Especially since we just fought not too long ago on the ship, and I hurt you pretty badly. I know you went out of your way even though~”

“Please stop...talking about it.” Mal’s voice almost broke, “Let’s just get what we need to do done so we can dock the Purrsia, and grab a few hotel rooms for the night.” A deafening silence, then a shuddering sigh as Mal pulled her bangs out of her eyes. “I want a fucking shower. I want it to be scalding hot and I want it as soon as possible.” Catra saw Mal’s shoulders tremble, but her voice was even. “I can still smell them on me.”

*

“Nothing.” Glimmer looked up, down, left, right, everywhere. “Nothing. There’s nothing here but space.”

“How did she survive out here?” Bow asked. Glimmer seemed to flutter with a sense of relief then. 

“I know her.” Adora insisted. “Maybe she teleported out here, but she’s definitely alive. I can feel it.” Glimmer sighed, and sat cross legged on the floor near the pilot’s seat, book in lap.

“I’m still...trying to get this spell to work right, guys. I’m not sure why it’s not working.” Another attempt went up in smoke. Literally. Glimmer coughed and sputtered, her hair a frizzy mess as Adora and Bow both coughed, waving away the smoke and looking to Glimmer in concern.

“Well?”

“Nothing!” Their initial location brought them to the middle of nowhere. Not a single planet was in sight, and it was disconcerting. The trio looked to Entrapta who was murmuring something to Emily’s Big Sister -- the AI whom she had recently dubbed Darla. A data pad waved in the grasp of her hair as she then looked to Wrong Hordak.

“Try...these figures, Wordak.” Entrapta suggested, “The Twilight Topaz came to this location too, so if we adjust to those angles and extend a few thousand lightyears…”

“Of course, my dear friend!” Wrong Hordak was quiet for a long moment before he looked up to Entrapta and tapped her on the shoulder. “I can’t be certain, but the trajectory would suggest the Telan System.”

“Great! We got a direction!” Adora announced. “Darla! Full speed for the Telan system!”

“Wait,” Bow jumped up panicked, “what planet in the Telan system! Adora, we don’t want to end up in the sun~” Darla announced the engines were on full blast, and Bow and Glimmer were thrown from one side to the other of the ship. Wrong Hordak simply held on while Entrapta floated back and forth with a giggle.

“I’m sure once we’re there we’ll easily pick up the trail and find Glimmer’s Mom, or maybe Catra!” Adora declared. “Darla get us as fast as we can! They have a head start! The sooner we close it the sooner we can get some answers!”

“Adora!” Bow yelled as he grabbed onto the pilot’s seat as they ripped through space, “I don’t have a good feeling about this!” The engines were now almost loud enough to drown him out. Adora smiled, her tongue sticking out, but then suddenly a red light and alarm went off.

“Warning. Asteroid Belt detected. Switching to Manual.”

“Wait!” The controls appeared in Adora’s hands, “Darla, slow down, I can’t dodge them at this speed! Slow down!”

“Engines at fifty percent.”

A yelping Bow saw himself thrown across the ship again. This time he caught Glimmer, winded by the effort, while Entrapta floated to a stop, giddy, then frowning.

“Uh...guys,” Everyone’s eyes were trained on the large asteroid filling the monitors, “guys, it’s not slowing down enough, I can’t stop it from~”

“We’re gonna crash!” Bow closed his eyes.

“Hmm,” Entrapta frowned, “It would seem as though this Asteroid is big enough to have a gravitational pull of its own and we are in its field.”

“Okay, great! How do we get out!”

“With more engines.” Entrapta looked at Adora plainly.  
“And how do I not hit all of the other rocks BESIDE it!”  
“You dodge, though at our speed and given the scenario that still only gives us about a thirteen percent chance of surviving.”

Adora looked to Bow, who nodded. “Take over now!”

Bow rushed over to the controls while Adora headed to the back of the ship. Glimmer rushed over to her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to slice some rocks.” Adora informed her.  
“And what if they hit the ship?”  
“Try to teleport us all to the nearest planet so we don’t all die?” Adora cracked a small grin, pulling away too quickly. Glimmer followed.

“You’re not serious” Glimmer smacked her forehead. “That can’t be your plan!”  
“Incoming space rocks! Really gotta go Glimmer!  
“Don’t tell me you’re actually serious! Adora!” Adora gave Glimmer a quick squeeze.

“For the Honour of GreySkull!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure this is secretly one of Mal's favourite fantasies: when she gets to kill wannabe predators. The best part is that she knows Tab won't chew her out over the morality of killing, only for the act drawing attention to herself. We won't be getting any more details than the odd hints here and there about everything Mal's been through. I don't think recounting such things play by play is appropriate nor necessary, (and often only comes across as grossly gratuitous) so don't worry. In fact I think this is probably the most we're going to get from Mal on what happened to her exactly, and in my opinion it's enough. We can connect the dots to why she would be so bitter about certain things now, and guarded about letting people into her inner circle.
> 
> Despite the "I'm a even tempered cool headed cool big sis type" display Mal puts on, she's got as much rage as Catra does for being wronged, and a lot of hurt that she stuffs down on a regular basis. The only thing is she bottles it and then lets it explode when she gets triggered by certain types of people. The type: usually authority figures and lewd jerks like these patrolmen. Then when she does that, she tries to play it off like her little blow up wasn't something that deeply gets under her skin, relying on bluster and bravado (even though she probably really needs a time out somewhere that she feels safe).
> 
> In other words, if you got the sense early on, maybe even in the last chapter that as soon as Mal knew that these guards had some rather untoward intentions for her Catra that Mal was very happily planning their murder -- you would not be wrong. That is it, 100%. She was planning on ending this encounter with those guards dead the moment she knew there would be no witnesses. There's just no easy way to let Catra in on that thought process without Catra, given her personality, attempting to stop Mal. This is not the first time Mal has done something like this, and it probably won't be the last.
> 
> Next Chapter:
> 
> “I screwed this up.”  
> “It’s okay.” Glimmer assured, rubbing circles on the small of her back. “I get it.”
> 
> “I just thought if we keep rushing forward, to the next clue, to the next thing, we’d find Catra and we would go back to Brightmoon and it would be fine. Like nothing bad ever happened.”
> 
> “I know.” Glimmer murmured softly.
> 
> “But the more time that passes since we beat Horde Prime, the more I realize I’m different now. Catra...she’s probably different too. The war changed us. Both before Prime came and definately after. There isn’t a normal after this. Not the normal we had before, and what we’ll have instead? I don’t even know what that would look like.”


	11. “What else could possibly go wrong?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it's really best not to invite danger...
> 
> Charging headfirst into the next thing lands Glimmer, Bow, Adora and Entrapta in hot water  
> Catra meets Tallstar when she loses sight of Mal in the crowds  
> Mal is yet again hiding something but claims its for Catra's own good as Mal isn't sure yet.  
> Kittrina catches wind of Mal and Catra being on Terris and takes an unhealthy interest in the latter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot! Chapter 11. Enjoy!

Catra,

We may have gotten a little hasty. I hope it doesn’t cost us too much time.  
Let’s just say we met a lot of space rocks. They decided to hit the ship.  
Yeah. That’s the version of events I’m going with. Please don’t ask Glimmer or Bow for their version, they’ll exaggerate what actually happened.  
The space rocks ganged up on us. It was totally unfair. That’s what I’m sticking with.

We’re going to get out of this. I know we will.

Thinking of you,  
Adora

*

“How many more do I have to break?”

“Well, as it is an asteroid belt,” came Entrapta’s calculated voice over the intercom, “it could be a few hundred more or a few thousand. This belt literally stretches miles so~” the sound of rock hitting metal came with a terrible bang that shot Adora’s heart into her throat, her pulse to the sky. She held the sword in both hands and cleaved two more rocks. She winced when she heard both halves hit right about where both engines should be. 

“This is going well.” Adora murmured to herself as she glowed with She-Ra’s energy, “What else could possibly go wrong?”

“Adora! One of the engines is gone. We can’t maneuver anymore!” Bow called up.

“Me and my big mouth.” Adora smacked her forehead, then planted both her feet, gathered her breath and swung in a wide arc. All of the rocks before them broke into tiny shards and dust, leaving the way clear. She slumped to the roof of the ship as they floated forward, sighing to herself. “I really made a mess, and everyone’s going to pay for it. Glimmer. Bow. Entrapta.”

She sighed, looking into the darkness. “Catra.”

A sound of something shifting caught her ear. Then she found arms around her and then the world shifted around her and she was on the ship again. Adora was off balance, and leaned into the thick, strong arms that held her. She removed her helmet from her suit, and she could smell the air of the ship again, the scent of the person who held her. She closed her eyes. She-Ra disappeared.

“You did everything you could for now.” Glimmer finally spoke. “Everything you’ve done is enough.” Adora felt herself shake, turning into Glimmer as she took deep gulping breaths.

“I screwed this up.”  
“It’s okay.” Glimmer assured, rubbing circles on the small of her back. “I get it.”

“I just thought if we keep rushing forward, to the next clue, to the next thing, we’d find Catra and we would go back to Brightmoon and it would be fine. Like nothing bad ever happened.”

“I know.” Glimmer murmured softly.

“But the more time that passes since we beat Horde Prime, the more I realize I’m different now. Catra...she’s probably different too. The war changed us. Both before Prime came and definately after. There isn’t a normal after this. Not the normal we had before, and what we’ll have instead? I don’t even know what that would look like.”

“It’ll be different and we’re all going to have to learn how to adapt to it.” Glimmer confirmed. “Adora,” she added softly, “since I was old enough to talk I knew my Kingdom was fighting a war. As soon as I was able to blast back as enemies, I was getting involved in battles. Nothing about that was normal either. Now that it’s all gone, I have to figure out what that means for me too. We all do.” Glimmer sighed. “Let’s go back to the bridge with the others.” She unwrapped her arms from Adora who wiped at her eyes, and began to move off, and Adora grabbed her by the wrist. “Yes?”

“How are YOU doing?”  
“I’m okay Adora.” Glimmer smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes.

“How are you really doing?” Glimmer tugged her wrist from Adora’s grip and shook her head gently, heading back to the bridge. Adora sighed. “You don’t want us worrying about you, do you?” She murmured mostly to herself, sighing. “I really messed this up. Acting like I’m the only one who lost someone.”

Slowly, she joined the others on the bridge. Bow looked at both him and Glimmer with worry shining in his eyes, but for the first time in a long time, Adora noted, Glimmer was actually allowing herself to stand close to Bow. Not just that, she was letting Bow reach for and hold her hand. It was more than the slight hug from before, it was sustained contact. Adora felt a pang, first of jealousy, then of guilt as she watched it.

She had seen Glimmer and Bow look at each other. She knew Bow wanted nothing but to offer all of the physical comfort Glimmer needed, and Adora had quickly figured out the unsaid: that Glimmer, for whatever reason, had been denying herself that.

“So...we’ve got one engine.” Bow informed Adora, “we can move forward with the single engine we have but not very fast.”

“Why do I feel like this is you giving me good and bad news and what you just told me was only the good news part?”

Bow’s laugh was tinged with panic. He squeezed Glimmer’s hand, and she in turn rubbed his forearm. It was clear both of them were holding back. Bow for Glimmer’s sake. Glimmer for Adora’s. “Well...yeah, you got me.”

“We’ve got seven hours of air left with the damage that was done by those asteroids!” Entrapta grinned, “that should be more than enough to get to a moon maybe?”

“With only one engine?” Bow asked.

Entrapta’s grin faltered. “Maybe not?”

Glimmer rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Now would be a really great time to see a planet and hope I could teleport there.”

“I was joking earlier.” Adora informed her, “Mostly.”

Glimmer cracked a weak smile, her hand slipping from Bow’s as she went to Adora. “I know, you were. It’s just kind of funny that it’s needed now.” She grabbed Adora’s hands and squeezed them between her own. “We’ll figure this out. Somehow.”

“What happens if we don’t find a planet?” Entrapta’s eyes bore a maniacal gleam. “I mean, when we think of it, we don’t need to find a planet, do we?”

“We don’t?” Adora blinked.

“We don’t!” Entrapta turned to Wrong Hordak. “Wordak, how many planets did you say do trade in this system?”

“Seven out of the twelve planets in this star system.”

“So, if trade is big here. We just need a distress signal. Darla! Send out a beacon as far as possible! Let us know if anyone picks it up!” 

*  
Leather Jacket was slipped off shoulders. A white tunic, beige pants and a light coloured cloak to protect from sun and sand was laid out to replace them. The sun was quickly setting, but the heat was still in full force. Mal had a matching cloak for Catra naturally, and Catra looked at her questionably.

“Do I really have to wear this darn thing?” She asked as Mal stuffed the cloaks and clothes into a dry pack and began to unceremoniously stripped down to her underwear -- surprisingly a pair of boy shorts and a bra. Unsurprisingly, both were black, complementing her dark brown skin and making Catra blush as she looked. Catra looked away and caught a glint of interlocking, flat oddly shaped plates down Mal’s spine, ending just above the dip of her back. Catra stared at it between her fingers, watching as it glowed faintly with Mal’s movements. Mal, if she noticed, said nothing as she folded her clothes and put them on her pilot seat. Mal’s knee high boots remained in place, and so did her gloves and bracers. “It’s going to be stupid hot.”

“It’s got repellent woven into it.” Mal replied stiffly, tying her hair back into a loose ponytail. The action showed off that the metal plates ended at the base of her spine where a chip kind of like Catra’s own resided. Catra moved her fingers and noticed that it wrapped around her neck as well -- covered by Mal’s collar. “If you want to have the blood suckers drink you dry when the sun dips below the horizon, be my guest, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Uh...right.”  
“Is there a problem?” Mal sighed, a hand on her hip.  
“Your back’s got a bunch of metal on it.”

“A lot of me has a bunch of metal.” Mal stated as if it were the most common thing ever. “That’s why I hate deserts. The metal heats up. Leaves some awful burns where it’s grafted to my skin. The sooner we get going the sooner I can get out of the blazing sun. Now strip and hand me what you’re wearing for the dry pack. Unless you want to be in damp clothes all night?”

Catra’s eye twitched as she followed orders, watching Mal watch her carelessly before turning around. “Do you...mind?”

“What?” Mal sounded completely clueless.  
“You’re looking.”  
“So. Nudity isn’t a big thing. Not everyone can afford clothes that will shift with them.”

Catra eyed her and frowned. “Well, I’m not shifting now, am I?” She bared her teeth, practically feeling her discomfort roll off her in waves and pushed it towards Mal. The older Theran’s eyes widened. She sniffed. Catra could almost feel the heat of Mal’s face when she promptly turned around and looked anywhere but Catra’s direction.

“Right. My bad. Sorry.”  
“You don’t have to be all weird about it.”  
“No, no, you made your point.” Her voice was soft and airy. “I understand now. I’m sorry.”

“Why are YOU the one acting like she’s embarrassed?” Mal shook her head and Catra sighed, shaking her head. “Whatever, look, I’m done now.”

They had stashed Clawdeen-Nu somewhere Catra didn’t suspect, or frankly, like. On a small uninhabited island in a small lake. It meant, unfortunately, they had to go through water to their next destination. Sure, they had dry clothes to change into, kept safe in the dry pack. Without much fanfare, Mal had led them to shore by the entrance of some dark alleyways, but it didn’t make Catra like it any more.

“Couldn’t we have just docked normally?” Catra groaned.

“What part of ‘if you’re Theran and not part of Chief Carnivian’s tribe you can be killed on sight so we need to blend in as much as possible’ was difficult to understand?” Mal threw back as they began to emerge from the labyrinthine alleyways. “If we were travelling with Tab, I’d take the risk, but you’re a piss baby and I’m sore as hell, so no thanks, now before we go out there, you need to ditch Melog.”

“Wait, hold up you want me to do what?” Catra hissed. “I’m not leaving her here!”

“You don’t have to leave her, you just dismiss her and she’ll just leave her corporal form.” Mal explained blandly, “then, when we’re safe, you can have her come back whenever you want.”

“WHAT!?” Catra gaped at her. “You want me to kill her?”

“No you idiot!” Mal smacked her forehead, “look, having her and Claudine tailing us will make us stand out too much. If you can summon her so she can take physical form here, then you should be able to dismiss her. Then you can just call her back later.”

Catra scowled. “I’m not doing anything to Melog, and neither are you. Hurt her and you’re dead.”

“Why are you so!” Mal threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t have time for this! Claudine!” The lion purred, and then dissolved into a ball of light that went into Mal’s chest. “Whatever, just hurry up. We’re far behind schedule. Tab’s going to be wondering what the hell happened and we haven’t even gotten our docking clearance yet!”

“Why are you so pissy?”

If Mal’s eyes could set things on fire, they would have. “Where do you want me to start?” Catra snapped her mouth shut at that, and Mal pulled up her hood, milling through the crowds, weaving with Catra lagging behind. She didn’t want to lose Melog who struggled with the people, but she didn’t want to lose Mal either.

“Slow down! You’re going too fast!”  
“I literally have one leg and you can’t keep up? How is that my problem, Kitty?”  
“You have longer legs than me!” Catra paused. “Leg.” She corrected herself, wincing.  
“I fucking hate Kittens.” Mal grumbled.

They passed market stalls, busy streets, and people. The type of which Catra had never seen before: lizard like tails, paw like feet but brown feathers. Catra could find herself lagging behind more. Until she couldn’t see Mal anymore. Melog bumped into her legs and she grumbled. 

“Great. Just what we need.” Catra grumbled. Melog meowed sadly. “I swear since we ran into the Patrol she went from being grumpy to flat out pissy. What’s her deal?” She scratched Melog’s ear. “She’s been off since we fought, but since those men she’s been worse. Way worse.” Catra lowered her hood and looked back forth, she jumped, but saw no sign. She found a couple of crates and climbed them but still saw no Mal.

“Lost?”

“Huh?” Catra whipped her head to the speaker. A young woman -- roughly her own age. She gave a charming smile as she crossed her mechanical arms. Catra tried not to stare at them, or her equally mechanical legs.

“I said are you lost?” The woman tried again, bemused. She lowered her hood, and Catra noted her dusky skin and short curly hair which was a deep red. “I know my way around here. Me and my siblings have lived on Terras for about a dozen years.” A pause. “We’re not native by any stretch, but it’s been home sweet home since Horde Prime destroyed ours.”

“I’m sorry.” Catra looked at the woman, and smiled. “That sounds terrible.”

“It’s how I lost my limbs, but the people around here? They’re alright.” The woman’s smile was devastatingly charming. “Fixed me right up with some of their best tech, and swapped them out as I grew up. Tera and Theran alike. Theran engineers are literally wizards.” She chuckled. “A lot of Therans live around here actually, is that what brought you here?”

“I, uh... live here too?” Catra couldn’t help but be a little guarded. 

“It’s cute how bad of a liar you are.” The woman dismissed. “I know you don’t and never have. Some people know how to flow through the crowds around here. You looked like a fish trying to swim up a waterfall backwards.”

Embarrassment lit up Catra’s cheeks “We’re just doing a supply run.”

“Oh?” The woman seemed very keenly interested. “Are you Theran Military?”  
“Just...runners.”

“Ah. Smugglers, or licensed?” A cocksure smile. “I’m going to go with smugglers. Don’t go advertising that. The Eternians have started cracking down. You could get yourself into a messy situation. In fact I could probably turn you in and get myself a tidy amount. Enough to eat for a month.”

Catra jumped backwards to put space between her and the woman. Her and her dumb mouth. She hissed at the woman, and instead she extended her arm and tugged Catra forward by hers, pulling her in close by her shoulder.

“Relax. If I wanted to turn you in, I would have knocked you out.” The young woman noted gently, leading them further down the street with her arm around Catra’s shoulders. “We all hustle around here and no one’s above playing dirty. Not even me. Trust no one.”

“Gee, thanks.” Catra grumbled.  
“I’m Tallstar.”  
“Catra.” Melog made a coo. “That’s Melog.”  
“What an interesting pet you got there. What is she?”  
“I’m...not sure. I just found her and we’ve been together ever since.”  
“Is she magic?” Tallstar’s eyes shone with stars. Catra pulled away a little.

“I think she is? Mal says so at least.” Catra untangled herself. “Look, I gotta go. I’m looking for someone.”

“Another Theran woman, right?” Tallstar smiled charmingly. “Taller? You’re what? Hmm. Five even. I’d put her at about half a foot more there about? Five-six. Acrobat’s build? Older than you -- mid to late twenties? Golden eyes and dark curly hair? Perpetual scowl?”

“How did you know all that?”

“She’s very beautiful by Theran standards. A real head turner.” Tallstar bashfully looked at her legs, “But to be honest, I see how she walks. It’s not a normal Bipedal gait by any means. One of her legs is prosthetic from the knee down, isn’t it?” Catra froze, not quite sure what to say and Tallstar looked up at her. “You walk a little differently even if you still have a knee, but it’s more noticeable when you don’t got one anymore.” Tallstar wrapped her arms around herself. “Sorry, just, ever since I lost my legs, and Jewel lost his, I notice things like that. Really notice.”

“Yeah,” Catra looked at Tallstar sympathetically, “the left one’s gone. She never said how.”

“I bet it’s difficult and personal. Often is.” Tallstar seemed sullen. “She comes around these parts now and then. Been a while since she’s passed through. Worried maybe she died. Runners can get rounded up by the Patrols or robbed and killed by Pirates. So it’s not uncommon for them to disappear suddenly. Being in that biz is dangerous. I’m glad to see she’s alive and well after all.” Tallstar explained. “I saw her head up about four more streets and turn left.”

Catra blinked then nodded. “Thanks Tallstar!”  
“Don’t mention it!” She called back. Catra ran off.

It took her a little while to find the alley Tallstar mentioned, but even when she arrived, there was no sign of Mal. Catra frowned at that, annoyed and irritated. Then she was terrified when someone grabbed her from behind. She turned around and slashed at them with her claws.

Mal’s cold face, even as it dripped with blood wasn’t a sight for sore eyes.

“Where the hell were you!?”  
“You left me!”

“I told you to hurry up and--” Mal growled, wiping at the scratches, then sniffing Catra, “who did you talk to?” Mal leaned forward, sniffing again. “I smell someone on you.” Mal’s hand raised swiftly and Catra winced, expecting contact. Instead, her cloak was ruffled.

“Relax,” it was the gentlest Mal had sounded towards her in hours, “I’m not going to hurt you, just stay still.” Mal withdrew her hand. “Who made you so jumpy, Kitten?” She sounded sad.

“I met one of the locals.” Catra dismissed Mal’s question, opening a single eye. She saw the older Theran’s eyes narrow.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Mal noted, voice very quiet and soothing.

“If you don’t have to explain why you’re such a perpetual bitch all the time, then I don’t have to explain myself either!” Catra snapped. 

“Very well. I know when things aren’t my business.” Mal backed off, “tell me about this local?”

“She says you pass through now and then.” She looked at Mal staring at her hand. She had some sort of Beetle in it and Catra watched her crush it. Instead of the expected innards, there were small metal springs instead, and Mal watched them fall. “What the heck was that?”

“A mic, Kitty.” Mal hissed. “Tab and I can’t stress it enough to you: if they aren’t one of us on the crew, keep your guard up. They’re either stealing from you, gathering information for blackmail or someone’s interest, or out to kill you.”

“Wait how would I have a literal ‘bug’ on me though?” Catra grumbled. Mal stared at her blankly and then it hit her. “Oh. She was just being friendly, get close and plant that, wasn’t she?”

“Now we have to go the long way and make sure she isn’t tailing us.” Mal pivoted, then turned into another series of alleyways. Her pace had slowed considerably, she was checking over her shoulder more, and taking pauses now and then. At first, Catra was wondering if it was because she was worried they would get attacked, but she caught the look of discomfort on Mal’s face and suddenly understood.

“I’m sorry. All of this extra walking must be a lot with your leg. Maybe I could have you lean on~”

“Just. Shut. Up. I’m in pain, not a frigging invalid!” Mal wiped her brow, bangs sticking to her forehead. She took a gasping breath, and leaned against a wall. Catra stared at her feet.

“I didn’t mean to suggest you couldn’t walk. I just wanted to help.”

“We’re here. Finally.” Mal declared turning down this last alleyway. They came upon a little unassuming place. It looked kind of like a temple nestled between two large buildings. Catra blinked at Mal when she saw her stop at a pillar and lean heavily. Mal reached into her pocket and pulled out something small and cardlike. An Ace of Swords on black cardstock.

“What is this?”

“Let’s get in. My leg’s killing me.” They stepped into what seemed to be the middle of a service. They remained in the back until it ended and a Theran man with bright white ears and tail in dark robes and a stiff collar joined them, bowing his head as he adjusted his silver glasses.

“Hello, I’m Minister Cloudfoot. Welcome. The Goddess Lynx protects all her children.” He brushed grey hair from his face, his silver eyes landing on them both as he gave a disarming smile. “How can I help you fine young Therans today?”

“We don’t need much, just a seat and some cold water, Minister. Maybe a way to pass time? Do you have any playing cards?” Mal asked. Cloudfoot looked at Mal carefully.

“Modern Galactic, or Traditional Theran?” He asked easily.  
“Traditional Theran.” Mal replied simply.  
“Are you from the homeland, my child?” Cloudfoot’s blue eyes scrutinized Mal carefully.

“In my heart of hearts, I am, but I have not smelled the soil.” Catra found the wording so odd and looked between the minister and Mal. The minister nodded.

“Come with me.” He began leading them to a small room. “Have any specific games in mind?”  
“How about a game of Sealgair?” Mal proposed.

“A game of the Royal Court?” Minister Cloudfoot’s eyes narrowed as they landed on Catra. “Not too many young people know that game anymore. How did you come to know it?”

“My big brother taught me.” He led them to a table and showed up with three glasses of water and a set of cards. He cut the deck quietly and shuffled, dealing them both in. Catra balked.

“I -- don’t know how to play.”

“You only need to follow, little one.” Cloudfoot reassured. He then turned to Mal, smiling gently, as he gestured for her to play. “I shall let you go first, honoured guest.”

“Your generosity is noted, and appreciated. I declare Swords as trump.” Catra could have sworn she spotted Mal slip something from her sleeve as she did so, and Cloudfoot nodded.

“What will be your face, then?”  
“The Four of Swords.” Mal placed the card face up. It was black, unlike the cards they were using, clearly distinct but Catra quickly realized that was the point.

“Such a small card. Are you sure, child? Four is normally not a strong card to play as a face.”

“Strength isn’t always about what we immediately see.” Mal countered, then placed her cards before her: Ace, Two, Three, and Four. “Sometimes a Four can also be a King.”

“I see. The rule of four and thirteen.” Cloudfoot folded his cards. “It has been a while, Grimalkin.”  
“Only about six months. Good to see you, Cloudfoot.” Mal grinned.  
“Pardon the traditions. Mages are tricky. Being careful never hurts.”

“All’s well, old friend.” Mal turned to Catra. “This is Catra.”

“Another Odd-eyed Theran?” Minister Cloudfoot seemed curious. “Well then, what could this mean? Did you have visions of this?”

“Just glimpses.” Mal confirmed, “Though, this Kitty here has quite a bit of interesting magic. Magic that seems an awful lot like mine.” Mal pointed to Melog and Cloudfoot’s eyes narrowed as he adjusted his glasses, “Melog here is a lot like my Claudine, or that’s what I’m thinking. I haven’t checked for her Sigil yet. Not my forte, maybe we should call Sir Tao?”

“Then it's a good thing I had the sense to call Sir Tao when I got your message.”

Mal pressed her lips together. “Sir Tao...he’s here?”

“He is, and he’s already set up for your friends on the Purrsia to dock. If you would like, Grimalkin, I can reach out to Major Manx and let her~”

“Them.” Mal corrected immediately  
“Them know they can dock now.” Minister Cloudfoot informed.

“Thank you.” Mal nodded her head raising from her seat and nodded to Catra to do the same. Catra followed as Mal began heading towards a cabinet in the room, “Tell Manx I’m okay, would you? They worry as you know, and I haven’t been at my best health lately.”

“Consider it done.” Minister Cloudfoot stood up and ushered them to a cabinet. He fiddled with it, and a latch clicked and a pathway was shown. “Sir Tao said he was looking forward to seeing you. I can only imagine the feeling is mutual. Go ahead, child. You as well, Catra. I look forward to seeing more of you around here.”

The door shut behind them and Catra looked to Mal. “You’re part of the Swords of Maud.”  
“Look at you. A real genius.” Mal stated dully.

“Stop messing with me.” Catra rounded on her, and to her surprise Mal actually backed up two steps. “I have magic like yours? What the hell does that mean?” Catra put a hand to her hip.

“I have reasons to believe Claudine and Melog are similar is all.” Mal looked away from her.

“What happened to you claiming you could do only Parlor Tricks?”

“Look, that was caution,”Mal grumbled something incoherent and scratched an ear. “it wouldn’t exactly be the first time in my life someone used a Theran to get at me. Or posed as a Theran.”

“So you lied to me again.” Catra growled low and menacingly. Mal’s eyes widened.

“I did.” She held up her hands, “and it was wrong but we knew nothing about you then. Please don’t transform here.” Nervousness, that’s what she was sensing, no, smelling from Mal. “You have no control over your other form. That’s going to be a huge problem for anyone who wants to be around you soon. That’s why I brought you.”

“You’re telling me not to be angry?” Catra hissed.

“No,” Mal managed a coy smile, “I’m telling you to at least give me a few days before beating the crap out of me again?” Her laugh was short, strained and uncomfortable. “Also, you probably shouldn’t mention that you hurt me to Sir Tao. He has a temper just as bad as yours....” a pause as Mal’s eyes darted down the hall, “hilariously appropriate if I’m right…”

“About what?”

“No point in discussing it unless I know for sure. I don’t think it’s fair to…” she paused, looking at Catra almost sadly, “get your hopes up.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”  
“I know what it’s like to hope something you want would come true and to hope and to hope and then to be crushed.” Mal sighed. “Every morning at the Dens when the Patrons were done with me, I’d hope my big brother or sister would find me and raise hell to save me.” Mal scowled at that thought, “but the problem was they were both dead. Even before I was sent there. No one knew where I was until Manx figured it out and that was solid years after the fact.”

“I don’t think I know what you’re saying.” Catra put her hand on her hip. “Stop talking in circles.”

“In a little under a month, you’ve gone from thinking you were the only person like you to learning we are an entire race of people, right?” Mal posed.

“That’s right. I didn’t even know Therans were a thing until now.” Catra confirmed.  
“Naturally, the question shifts from ‘if my people are out here then maybe…’” Mal left it unsaid.

“My family.” Catra murmured. Mal nodded. “That’s why you want to know my Sigil so badly, isn’t it? But why are you so interested? What do you get out of this?”

“I don’t think I have a solid answer for that. I’m not sure myself.”

“That’s crap!” Catra growled. Mal didn’t fire back and so Catra hissed, “You already know, don’t you? How? Or at the least, you have suspicions, don’t you?”

“Just trust me on this?” Mal looked at her again finally and gave a sad smile, “if it’s what I think -- no.” She shook her head. “As annoying as you are, I wouldn’t wish the shit I dealt with on you. Trust me. Let me know for sure and I’ll tell you everything. I’d rather spare you heartbreak over false information.”

“Who or what the heck are you really Mal?” A thought, radical but it had been itching at Catra’s brain for quite some time. “Is Grimalkin even your real name?”  
"Real is arbitrary. The girl I was doesn't exist anymore." Mal smiled. "My name is a fitting name for a revolutionist."  
"So it is an alias." Catra growled at that. "Is there anything about you that isn't a lie?"

“Look, let’s just see Sir Tao.” Mal dismissed. “I missed him a lot.”

*

“Hey, Sweetness.” Tallstar pushed through the fabric and beads only to find a young woman with short, dark, spiky hair, her Theran ears twitching. The woman scowled as she turned to her, but her expression softened.

“Don’t call me that.” The woman replied. “Kittrina is fine.”  
Tallstar raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said using your actual name was risky?”

“Then call me Kitt.” Kittrina informed, dismissing her concern. “I have nothing to hide. A year ago, I had no power. Now...” Kittrina snarled. “I’ll leave the lies and false identities for those who want to spend their lives begging for table scraps.”

“Geeze. Don’t you Therans get super bent out of shape over betrayal and all that?”

“It’s not betrayal when they showed their claws and fangs first. I’m a free agent, scoping both factions.” Kittrina took a long sip from her canteen, her mismatched eyes going beady. “A lost art if you ask my Aunt and Uncle. I take it you were successful?”

“Here you go.” Tallstar reached into a back pocket and pulled out four items: three photos and a small device. “That your girl, ain’t she? She looks a bit different than the photo you sent me.”

Kittrina took the photos and hummed. “She’s a Magus. Been on the run from our Uncle since she was a teen. Long term disguise spells aren’t recommended. Too much psychological fall out. Dissociative episodes. Stuff like that.” Kittrina looked at the photo and hummed, “So her choosing something just different enough for her to recognize herself, but to be read as someone different by strangers who don’t know any better is a very clever trick.”

“I only got half of that, I think.” Tallstar stretched her neck. “Disguise magic? Okay. Enough to make you think she isn’t the same person? Makes sense. Different eye colour could be explained by contacts, but if I’m understanding how your people work, the facial and body markings can change how an entire face is read. Hiding or changing those makes her look very different to someone who bumps into her on the street.”

“Exactly, and unless you're personally acquainted, you wouldn’t know her scent.”

“Add a forged document with a different birthdate and the standard run of the mill Eternian soldier -- who already struggles to tell you guys apart unless it’s stupidly obvious -- would be none the wiser. Just bemused there’s a look-a-like.” Tallstar hummed. “Am I getting this right?”

“You’re doing well.” Kittrina studied the second photo closely. “Who’s the Theran with her?”

“I don’t know anything about her, other than that thing being her pet.” Kittrina flipped to the third photo, and her eyes widened, her lips pressed together. “First time they’ve been seen together around here from what I can tell. She seems very fresh out of water, like she’s never been on a different planet before.” Tallstar looked uncomfortable. “Look, I got you info on your girl. She’s alive after being missing for six months. About what we discussed, with my sister and brother?”

Kittrina scowled. “I’ll make sure your darling sister Starla isn’t messed up too bad.”

“That wasn’t the deal!” Tallstar snarled. “And what about Jewelstar?”

“I’m altering the deal. Find out everything you can about this new Theran, and I’ll have the Sorceress personally retrieve Starla and my fleet pick your brother up from the pirates.”

“You can’t just change the deal now! I did my part! Do yours!”

“As it stands,” Kittrina brushed off, “I’m still your best shot at getting them back alive, so either do as I say or resign yourself to the fact that at best, you’ll find their bodies someday.”

Tallstar gritted her teeth. “Fine.” She stormed off and Kittrina looked at the picture again.

“You look so familiar.” Kittrina murmured, tracing the outline of the face before her. “Like Mother almost. How? Is this one of her tricks?” It had to be. She shook her head. “I guess you’re her new toy.” Kittrina’s eyes narrowed, “Meaning I’m going to have to break you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Adora, you said the dreaded words. Why?
> 
> Fun fact: In MOTU "Grimalkin" was a demon of the Catfolk. So in short, yes, Catra's right. It's not Mal's real name. Remember when Tom in an earlier chapter (Chapter 5) said: “It’s what I was. The Dens took my name years ago, and I’m okay without reclaiming the old or claiming a new. I know that doesn’t work for everyone.” 
> 
> Tom already hinted to us in that chapter that:
> 
> 1) Mal was in the Dens too - he made a remark that he understood why Mal disliked calling him 'Tomcat' - because he knew she understood the full context of that descriptor better than anyone.
> 
> 2) Mal's "real name" isn't Mal because she, like Tom, considers the name she was born with is 'lost' to her. Unlike Tom, though, she actually claimed a new name, (and it's the same name of as a Demon in Theran culture.) In this case, Grimalkin in my version of this is specifically the Theran Demon of Vengeance. 
> 
> Take that for what you will. :)
> 
> Sometimes the simplest answers are the correct ones!
> 
> Next Chapter:
> 
> “So he was betrayed too?” Catra hummed. “They all have eyes like mine.”  
> “It happens.” Mal dismissed.
> 
> “Their mother has different eyes. Golden eyes, like yours.” Catra pointed out. She could have sworn Mal flinched. “You said both of their parents are the same? Seems genetic.”
> 
> “Odd eyed Therans aren’t unheard of.”
> 
> “But they aren’t common, right?” Catra figured out. “Tab has teal blue eyes. You have golden eyes. Mog’s are a sort of green colour and Tom’s are grey. Both of Minister Cloudfoot’s eyes were the same colour too. I mean, I haven’t met many Therans yet, but so far that suggests it’s not all that widespread, is it?”
> 
> “How observant.” Mal snorted, steamrolling ahead. Catra hissed at her back.


	12. “It’s like the entire Universe is now the Crimson Wastes!”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra finally learns something about the Royal Family of Panthera from an ever reluctant Mal.  
> Sir Tao sees Catra's potential and pushes Mal to help Catra understand her powers more.  
> Entrapta proposes that getting rid of Horde Prime may have caused some harm for the rest of the universe.  
> Adora feels the existential dread in the face of what seems to be certain death and in a moment comes briefly face to face with Catra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun chapter to write! A mini sort of reunion! A view of the Fright Zone! Mal getting increasingly uncomfortable about letting the cat out of the bag (Pun intended) and Entrapta laying out something only someone like her would be able to deduce!
> 
> Enjoy!

Catra,

Of all the ways I imagined coming face to death, this was the last idea we had in mind.  
Fighting for the Horde and getting caught by the Princesses when we thought they were evil? Okay. That made sense.  
Dying saving Bright Moon. Glimmer. Bow.  
Dying because you and I were fighting and I couldn’t bring myself to strike you down?

All of those seemed more plausible than suffocating to death. Why am I even writing this now?  
We’ve got about two hours of air left. Entrapta’s told Darla to reduce the oxygen output to buy us time but that’s only a temporary fix. I’m feeling more and more exhausted as time goes on. We’re not talking to help conserve air, except for the occasional roll call. We’re trying our best not to fall asleep. We’re all worried we won’t wake up if we do.

I guess my real reason for writing this? To let you know that I’m thinking of you. That I was always thinking of you. I was stupid. I was so stupid.

I knew I needed to do the right thing. That’s why I joined the rebellion but…  
You needed me.

Adora

*

Catra once again found herself struggling to keep up with Mal. She went on a decent clip, and the younger woman found herself catching glimpses of pictures on the walls. Forests. Oceans. Fields. Strangely familiar and yet incredibly foreign. Then came people.

She stopped at one picture in particular. A Theran woman with skin the same shade as her own and darker brown stripes sat in an ornate chair. Her eyes were golden, her fur dark about her eyes making her gaze rather arresting. Her hair was a tawny, almost orangish colour that was mirrored in a couple of spots along her arms. Upon her head was a reddish pink-brown jeweled crown. She smiled, but the smile was wary. 

Around her were four others. On each side were a pair of Theran women who looked strikingly similar and younger than the seated woman: both had mismatched eyes -- blue and gold. Their hair, ears, tails and stripes were black, their hair somewhat spiky, and they both smirked. The only difference between the twins was that one had a rounded stomach.

Behind the seated woman was a young man about the same age as the women on each side. He had hair as dark as theirs and the same mismatched eyes and stripes, but his skin was overall much, much darker.

On the older woman’s lap was another child, who was quite young. She had mismatched eyes as well, and wavy dark hair. Instead of stripes on her face, there were white markings on her cheeks and forehead that looked almost ornate.The young Theran had two tails, a noticeable patch of white, shaped like a star on her chest and a beaming grin of laughter. Catra stopped to stare at it better, and it had taken a few moments before Mal paused.

“Let’s go, Kitty.”  
“Who’s this?” Catra asked.

“The Royal Family. They’re all dead or presumed dead now.” Mal explained with a sigh, “except the woman standing on the Queen’s right.” Mal paused. “Princess Sunda. She’s gone Mad.”

“That doesn’t really tell me who they are.”  
“The Queen and four of her children.” Mal rattled off.  
“There seems to be quite an age gap if they’re all siblings.” Catra noted.  
“Eighteen years, and nine other Kittens.”  
“So the Queen had,” Catra paused to do the math, “thirteen kids? Where are the others?”

“By the time this photo was taken?” Mal shook her head. “Dead.” She whispered. “War or illness took the others.” her expression was pinched. “All who survived had the same Sire. He was known to be unusually lucky. Perhaps his luck rubbed off on them?”

“Do you know anything else about them?” Catra turned to catch Mal’s expression. She pressed her lips together, turning away just a bit.

Mal sighed with agitation. “Queen C’yra of House D’Riluth. Second of her name. She was noble and kind. She trusted her family above all. It cost her.”

“Was she betrayed?” Catra guessed.

“Yes.” Was Mal’s very short answer. “On her left, Princess Lybica. Brave. Brilliant. Ferocious. She got so many of our people back from the Horde labs. The Queen felt this made her best for the quest to locate our Ancestor’s abandoned home -- Half Moon, and perhaps establish a colony there.” Mal sighed, lifting her head to stare above her. “They never heard back from her.”

“That...sounds tragic.” Catra frowned. “Maybe she’s out there still?”

“On the Queen’s right, Princess Sunda, who is Princess Lybica’s twin.” Mal ignored Catra’s thought, her jaw clenched. “What Lybica lacked, Sunda had. Kindness for Ferociousness. Patience for bravery. She lost many children. Her beloved litter mates. Then her mother was killed by her youngest sister who went missing shortly after. Grief made Sunda go mad.”

Catra knew she heard this before. She noticed Mal’s hands curled into fists and curious, she found herself prodding. “You don’t think the younger Princess really did it do you?”

“Her Majesty Queen C’yra was a ruler who led from the frontlines. She had more than triple the wartime accomplishments on her record than Princess Lybica.” Mal’s growl was low, more a deep vibration than an actual sound. “I and many others find it hard to believe a sickly twelve year old did her in. There was foul play.” Mal shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

Catra looked at Sunda, studying her face. “Princess Sunda seems so gentle.”

“She was.” Mal relaxed and dipped her head in quiet admission. “Princess De’Va is the little one in the Queen’s lap, laughing.” 

“So she’s the one who killed the Queen?” Catra pieced together. “If the Queen was as strong as you claim she was, maybe she was crafty? I’ve never had the brute force of the Princesses. So I always had to plan around it and rely on them to be too dependent on their powers.”

“Allegedly.” Mal stressed. She paused for a shuddering breath. “Anyone who spent time in court would tell you three things about Princess De’Va: she was very ill, very kind and an innocent soul.” 

That made Catra’s hair stand on end. “How old was she when she passed away?”

“Prince Devon is in the back.” Mal was for sure ignoring the question. Catra was certain of it by how she moved on. “Nobody fought harder for Therans or family than he did. Too bad some of his beloved family would rather have power than his strength and loyalty.”

“So he was betrayed too?” Catra hummed. “They all have eyes like mine.”  
“It happens.” Mal dismissed.

“Their mother has different eyes. Golden eyes, like yours.” Catra pointed out. She could have sworn Mal flinched. “You said both of their parents are the same? Seems genetic.”

“Odd eyed Therans aren’t unheard of.”

“But they aren’t common, right?” Catra figured out. “Tab has teal blue eyes. You have golden eyes. Mog’s are a sort of green colour and Tom’s are grey. Both of Minister Cloudfoot’s eyes were the same colour too. I mean, I haven’t met many Therans yet, but so far that suggests it’s not all that widespread, is it?”

“How observant.” Mal snorted, steamrolling ahead. Catra hissed at her back.  
“Just tell me what you figured out about me already!” Catra yelled down the hall, “Are they my family or not?”

“Don’t yell. We’re trying to lay low, remember?”  
“What do you know?”  
“That you’re a colossal pain in my ass.”  
“Hey!”

The room they found themselves in had no windows, just stone walls, a small table and a “Portable CD Player” Catra realized. That, and a man, another Theran dressed in all black with a simple collar around his neck. His fur was mostly light, with smatterings of Black around his eyes and orange along his face and hands. As if proving her point, he had two startlingly amberish-orange eyes that stared at Catra unblinkingly.

Sir Tao was tall, slim. Not like Mog -- Mog’s slim figure reminded Catra of a sprinter. Speed with no sustainable power. Short effort that exhausted quickly. Uniform throughout. Sir Tao, on the other hand, reminded her more of acrobat. Powerful thighs. Broad shoulders. Speed, power and flexibility. A bit of weight about his stomach suggested that he was perhaps a little bit older, but he was dashingly handsome. In fact, his figure was oddly similar to Mal’s now Catra was seeing them side by side. Heavy, powerful legs that gave you the impression they could leap to great heights -- though Mal’s left didn’t match her right for obvious reasons. Those strong legs led to shapely hips and butts for the muscles that were responsible for their power. Broad, strong shoulders and thinner arms that were corded with muscle on display with his crossed arms.

“Is this the Kitten you sent a message about?” He had a natural huskiness to his voice that reminded Catra of Mal’s a lot too, but he had a slimmer face and his different colouring made it clear they looked quite a bit different. They mirrored each other eerily in how they moved, as if they knew the rhythm of the other’s body by heart. Sir Tao offered a hand. Mal extended her own, and stepped close to him. A hand on his shoulder. His hand at her waist as they stepped in sync. It was not their first time dancing together.

“She is.” Mal smiled, spinning when she was led and stepping back in time to the quiet music he was playing. “I hope that isn’t a problem, Sir Tao?”

“Not at all.” His smile was almost feral when he and Mal moved to be side to side, her arm around his shoulders, his about her waist as they kept up with the music, “Providing she’s the same one from your vision.”

“Do you doubt me?” Mal smirked as she slid in front of him, her back against his chest. He flowed in his movements, following hers closely.

“You?” He asked, “Never. You’re too careful a queen to take that risk.” They turned back to back, mirroring their movements. “Grimalkin does not go soft if it means jeopardizing her mission.” Mal spun to face him again, both of them reaching for the other’s hand. “Your footwork is a little weak today, love. Particularly on the left. Are you having issues again?”

“It’s nothing serious.”

“If I ever listened when you said that, you’d be wheelchair bound.” Sir Tao shook his head as they both let go and spun to the left in sync. Mal nearly stumbled. Gracefully, Sir Tao steadied her and canted his head, his point made. “Promise me you’ll meet with the doctor AND the machinist before you leave the planet?”

“Sir Tao.” Mal hissed he lightly grasped her hand, initiating a little back and forth in their steps, almost like a salsa before Mal stepped in closer. “Don’t baby me.”

“Your mother certainly can’t do it,” his hand found her waist again, “and sadly she’s missed out on some crucial years there.” Tao smirked as he dipped her. “You deserve the extra care.”

“You are the only person in this ‘Verse who can get away with saying crap like that to me. Tread lightly.” Mal’s words ended with a menacingly low as she was brought upright. The song ended. They both turned to Catra and she looked at both of them, ears alert. Sir Tao’s amber eyes focused on Catra.

“She reminds me of your mother.”  
“I swear to Lynx, Tao, if you don’t shut up I’ll cut your tail off.”

“Ouch.” He put two hands over his backside. “No thanks. Tell that husband of yours~”  
“Not a husband recently.” came a grumble.  
“Oh. Right. I forgot about that. Wife this time?”  
“Just stick with Spouse. They’ve been feeling neither tom nor queen lately.” Mal explained.

“Tell your Spouse that you need a lot of massages to mellow you out.” Tao informed after calibrating correctly, “All that stress is no good for your health~” he gasped, “oh no, are you grumpy because you’re in heat? Is it hurting? Is your spouse making sure you get enough~”

“Sir Tao!”

“Okay, okay. You went dark for six months. I was beside myself with worry. Excuse me for doting on one of my only remaining~” Mal cleared her throat loudly. Sir Tao coughed as he tripped over words, “friends.” He ended awkwardly. Then he offered his hand to Catra. “Tao. A pleasure.”

“Catra.” Catra shook his hand and gave him an awkward smile.

“Sir Tao is one of the pillars of the Blades of Maud.” Mal explained gruffly.

“Along with good old Grimalkin here.” He threw an arm around Mal’s shoulders and she rolled her eyes but didn’t brush him away. Tao’s eyes fell to Melog and they grew wide. “You have one too!” He dropped down to his knees and began petting Melog “I feel we make a club!”

“Wait, you have one as well?” Catra asked.

“That’s why she brought you! Oh! It’s been so long since I’ve seen another like us! I thought Mal and I were the last ones!” He began ruffling Melog under the chin and grinning each time she purred “Look at you! Sooo cute!” An orange glow formed around him, and a tiger was at his side with a keen, low growl. “This is my good friend, King Paw.” The bearded tiger sniffed at Melog and then gave her an experimental lick. Sir Tao chuckled as he patted King Paw’s head.

“This...is normal?”

“For Cait Sith, yes.” Tao stood up, still smiling. Mal smacked her forehead and he pouted when he looked at her. “Don’t tell me you were seriously keeping that information from her?”

“Just! Argh! Yeah, Sir Tao, tell the complete stranger everything about us, why don’t you!” Catra felt a pang at that, and scowled at Mal in turn. “It’s not like I haven’t spent the last fifteen years in my life either in my own personal hell or running away from Carnivus, you stupid~”

“A complete stranger?” Catra echoed, the words stopping Mal mid sentence as she looked away.

“Are you so miserable in your life now that you can’t even rejoice at the fact that we found one of our very few remaining kin?” Tao asked sagely. “One of the things I always lamented most was the day I would pass on and leave you as the last with all our magic traditions.”

“Well if you just sired children…” Mal snorted. 

“Don’t be crude.” Sir Tao warned. “Besides, you said you had a vision of a girl exactly like her. Are you telling me your gift of sight is false?”

“No, I don’t think so, I mean…” Mal deflated.  
“So I am a Cait Sith then?” Catra put together.

Sir Tao nodded. “That’s what I’m suspecting, Catra. Come, take a seat.” He led them to the pile of cushions and Mal flopped on the floor unceremoniously, arms crossed. “There is a way for us to find out for sure. See, by being blessed with magic, you are able to trace your roots far easier than a Theran without extensive ties to magic. Your ancestors had symbols, -- runes which formed Sigils -- that link you to them. Families have overlapping runes in their individual Sigils, as do pupils and masters, but where in the Sigil those shared symbols appear tells us what we need to know.”

Tao gestured at Mal who frowned and shook her head. He gestured again. She shook her head. He frowned and crossed his arms. Mal sighed and scooted over a lot closer so she was face to face with Catra. Tao then began to mill about, and the scent of something burning and perfume began to fill the air. With Tao away from them, Catra turned to Mal.

“Mal…” Catra caught her eyes, “so I’m practically a stranger now?”  
“Look I…”  
“I thought Tab wanted me to join your crew, that you’re some sort of family.”  
“Manx,” Mal looked away, “says many things. They’re soft. That will get them killed someday.”  
“And you said you’d treat me as part of the crew and to keep in mind none of you were complete monsters.”

A bark of a laugh escaped Mal. “ Again, Kitty.” She looked sad. “I never once said none of us weren’t close.”

“Who are you really?” Mal looked away. Catra growled. “What are you then?”  
“Furious. Always.” Mal’s voice was barely more a whisper. 

“What aren’t you telling me?” Catra frowned and looked at Tao as he walked back to them, making him her focus. “Well, I want to know. What do we need to do?”

“Ordinarily, I would do the honours, but Grimalkin needs the practice.” Sir Tao grinned.  
“Oh you’ve got to be kidding!”  
“I’m getting the sense Catra that you are raw, untrained talent.”  
Catra’s face pinkened. “I can’t even control transforming.”

“Huh. Right. On the money.” Tao nodded. “What that means then is that you can’t just make your Sigil appear, we have to go to it. Untap that potential. The safest way is to be guided through a mindscape. Your mentor’s here.”

“My mentor is?” Catra turned to Mal, who shook her head violently side to side, “I think she’s opting out of the role.”

“Is she? Because I am sensing the rune “Nu” emanating from you, Catra, and I already know that isn’t the Primary of your Sigil.” Tao’s smile grew sly. Mal scoffed. “sometimes the mentor doesn’t get to choose the mentee. Sometimes it's your magic that decides for you.”

“This is a dumb idea.” Mal hissed.

“You’ll be fine, lovely.” Sir Tao assured. “I’ll be here for any intervention needed.” He turned back to Catra, “Well, what do you say?”

“It’s worth a shot.”  
“Then close your eyes, and feel for Mal’s magic and your own. Let them meet.”

*

“Adora, you need to open your eyes.”

“But I’m sleepy.” Adora rolled over, and she heard a noise of frustration, a grunt from Glimmer. Something hard was shoved between her ears and she yelped loud, finding the butt end of Glimmer’s staff. “Glimmer!”

“We can’t fall asleep. Now do the check in.”

“Ugh. Fine. Adora here.”  
“Bow here.”  
“Entrapta here!”  
“I am here!” Came Wrong Hordak’s far too enthusiastic contribution.

“Entrapta,” Glimmer groaned, “how much air do we have left?”

Entrapta took a long time to respond. She was first pointing something out to Wrong Hordak, then holding various tools in hands and hair, and Glimmer tried not to look impatient while waiting for an answer.

“At the reduced oxygen output...maybe two more hours if we don’t have long conversations?”  
“Has anyone heard our SOS yet?” Glimmer asked.

“It seems since we were on the outskirts of the solar system, even the closest ships might have been hours away.” Entrapta informed. “Though, it is also equally possible that they are ignoring the SOS as well.”

“Wait,” that caught Adora’s attention, “why would they do that?”

Entrapta leaned over Adora’s spot on the ground. “Maybe they want our ship parts?”  
Adora stared at her. “They’re waiting for us to be dead?”

“I mean, and this is a hypothesis,” Entrapta explained, “Horde Prime ruled most galaxies, right?”  
“Right.” Adora Agreed  
“So he used to keep everything in order, right?”  
“Right.” Glimmer chimed in.  
“Now he’s gone.” Entrapta pointed out. “Right?”  
Adora and Glimmer nodded together. “Right.”  
“So who keeps order now?” Entrapta pointed out.

Silence.

“Meaning everything would be lawless now,” Entrapta guessed, “It’s like the entire universe is now the Crimson Wastes!” Adora and Glimmer looked at each other and shuddered.

Adora's eyes widened. "You mean...we saved ourselves but we might have hurt the rest of the universe?"  
Entrapta frowned. "Potentially. I mean, was it really better for them to be under Horde Prime?"  
"But all the chaos we caused..."

“Uh...maybe we shouldn’t have an SOS beacon? I mean. You can’t trust anyone in the Crimson Waste and you can’t trust anyone in Outer Space, right?” Glimmer offered with a weak grin.

Entrapta considered it from one of her numerous workstations on the ship where Wrong Hordak was tirelessly working. “Perhaps but,” she gestured to images that popped on the screen, “I can’t fix gaping holes or missing wings.”

“Oops.” Adora quietly mumbled.

“So it’s our best bet! At least look at it this way: if we’re captured by pirates! We get to join a Space Pirate Crew!”

Bow sighed. “I don’t think that’s how that works.” 

A loud bang and a shrieking alarm threw them all to the ground. The lights went out, and then, everything went weightless. Adora scrambled to orient herself, watching as Entrapta mimed swimming through the air. Bow swung himself to “upright”, and Glimmer held onto the chair as they looked about.

“What was that?”

Entrapta held up her Data Pad. “Well, judging by Darla being out, I’d say another asteroid hit our power source.” Entrapta went to one of the panels and opened it. “I’ll have Darla on back up power in no time. Just give me a moment here.”

“Great! Great! Don’t panic Glimmer. It’s just the dark. It’s not like we’re about to suffocate in two hours!”

Bow floated over to Glimmer. “We could still teleport, right? If we see a planet, just drop in as soon as we can in our space suits.”

“Not a terrible idea!” Entrapta admitted, “providing we end up on the surface and not having to do a reentry in our suits.”

“No pressure! None at all!” Glimmer gave a fear tinged smile. Another crash was heard shaking the ship violently. Adora tried to keep herself from being flung about, but she missed the arm of the pilot chair by a hair, and felt herself being thrown.

Adora hit a surface back first and her vision went black.

*

Catra blinked, long and slow. Above her was a haze that obscured the sun. Beneath her, warmed metal. She sat up looking around and frowned in confusion. Metal structures, industrial. No spec of nature to be seen. The hint of blue foliage far off in the distance.

“The Whispering Woods.” She just knew it was, which meant…

She turned around and saw it starkly in front of her. Bright, burning crimson on every flagpole. The bat-like wing arches of the symbol in a black as dark as coal. “The Fright Zone…”

She climbed down from her perch, one of her favourites and began picking her way around the space. It was quiet. Too quiet. No soldiers in standard uniforms. No sign of anyone. Catra looked about, feeling a strange sense of eeriness at it all. Before she was with Grimalkin and Sir Tao in what seemed to be one of the safe houses for the Blades of Maud. Now, she was on Etheria again. In the Fright Zone again.

Catra looked to the horizon, for some sense of something that proved this wasn’t quite real. All she saw was the setting sun in the distance. She glared towards it, listening for anything, something that gave her a better sense of time and place. Piercingly, a loud roar filled her ears. She covered them with both of her hands, and screwed her eyes shut. Behind her eyes flashed an image of a panther-like creature, large and towering.

“Are you okay?” A hand was placed on her shoulder.

Catra yelped and scratched at the person. Her eyes opened and she found herself staring with hauntingly familiar golden eyes. Only the appearance of the one who had them was more tawny with patches of black by her eyes and ear. She smiled gently, tilting her head, not even perturbed at the deep scratches on her cheek. Catra had the decency to look away.

“Sorry.” Catra watched the woman warily. “Did I hurt you badly?”  
“It’s fine. I’ve had many kittens now. You’d think I’d know better than to startle a young Theran.”  
“Right…” Catra stumbled, in a daze. She had seen that woman before, from somewhere.

“You look lost.” Catra nearly jumped when the other Theran was just at her elbow, looking her over with such curiosity. “Are you looking for something?”

“I’m...not sure. They said something about my magic tying me to my roots, but having to be guided there.” Catra stuck out her tongue. “Yet Mal, who’s supposed to do the leading is -- unsurprisingly -- nowhere to be found. Geeze. What was even I expecting from her?”

“That she’d pull through?” The woman offered.  
Catra’s eyes fell to the ground. “I don’t get her, I want to, but she makes it difficult.”

That piercing roar came back, forcing Catra to her knees. Her companion seemed to have the same problem, having to keep her upper body upright. When the roar ended, they both stood up and shook it off.

“So you came here with someone named Mal?”  
“Yeah. Short for Grimalkin.” Catra began heading deeper into familiar trails. Up stairs, through corridors, smelling the running water from drainage. The woman was still with her.

“Grimalkin. Like the Theran Demon of Vengeance?” The woman asked. Her expression made Catra shudder. “They collect restless souls and keep them close until they can get justice.”

“I guess?” Catra shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, I didn’t think that was her ‘real’ name either.”  
“You didn’t grow up around other Therans, did you?” The woman asked.

“No, I didn’t. Is every Theran I ever meet going to keep bringing that up now?” Catra asked testy. “Screw this! Scorpia!” She tried. Silence. “Hordak!” Nothing. “Who else would actually be in the Fright Zone? Lonnie! Kyle? Rogelio?” Catra went out on a limb. “Entrapta? Shadow We~”

That roar came back again. This time something was different about it. There was this distinctively sorrowful sound to it. When Catra screwed her eyes shut she saw Mystacor again. The city was literally falling around them, barely floating thanks to Shadow Weaver’s magic which glowed fuschia around the gem. Shadow Weaver was there and she was taking off her mask, staring at Catra with her scarred face and that small sad smile.

Shadow Weaver was hushed, but her voice seemed to carry easier without the mask, “The only thing I will ask,” she gasped, “is that you don’t follow my example.”

Catra gasped when she came to awareness. The woman from before was beside her now, quiet, pensive. “If that’s the real you, Mal, cut it out. Don’t mess with my head anymore and don’t make me warn you again.”

“I have no power here. I am not ‘Grimalkin’, nor am I THE Grimalkin.” The woman responded simply waving a hand. “Though, I truly do wonder if they are two different things still?”

“Who are you?”  
“That’s a complicated question if you ask some.”  
“I’m not asking them, I’m asking you.” Catra noted pointedly.  
“I was born Calico D’Riluth.” The woman responded simply. Catra frowned.

“D’Riluth,” Catra eyed her, “Where have I heard that name before?”

“It is the name of the Royal family, young one.” she smiled, “you probably know me by the name I chose to rule by. C’yra the Second.”

“You’re the Queen of Panthera.”

“Former Queen now, I would think,” C’yra looked at her claws. “though I suppose with a self appointed Chief, the Dynasty as I knew it is gone anyways, so maybe it’s all semantics?”

“But what are you doing here?” Catra shook her head in disbelief. “Aren’t you dead?”

“Quite.” C’yra confirmed. “This me you see here is a phantom, a fragment, an echo.”  
“Why are you here?”  
“I’m looking for my daughter.” She explained simply. “My youngest.”

As soon as she spoke those words another roar, that sounded more like a tortured scream filled Catra’s ears. She screwed her eyes closed again and her mind’s eye filled with more memories

“Great.” Catra hissed, “So I’m just someone’s experiment all over again.”

“We don’t — we,” Adora was practically tripping over herself, anxiety was clear in every inch of her body. Catra frowned. “We really don’t have to do it if you’re not comfortable!” Adora waved off with her good arm. 

Catra found the roar faded, and she stood up again. When she looked around, she found C’yra was missing as well. Shrugging it off she headed for the bunks, with one name on her lips.

“Adora.”

“You called?” Catra spun around to find herself face to face with the blonde. Adora smirked at her and Catra stared at her, dumbfounded.

“Sir Tao? Mal? This isn’t funny anymore!”  
“Who’s Sir Tao and Mal?”

It was funny, sometimes, how one tiny question could freeze you in your tracks. Catra turned to face Adora, to really take her in. Then very quietly, she asked. “Do you know where you are?”

“In the Fright Zone.” Adora answered easily. Catra deflated, but her next words caught her attention, “though I’m not quite sure how that happened. Last I remembered, I was in space.”

“In space?” Catra echoed. “Why?”

“We’re looking for you, silly!” Adora explained, “did you think we’d just leave you with Horde Prime in Despondos?” She tilted her head. “Wait. You thought that, didn’t you? Oh Catra…”

“It’s really you.” Catra laughed with relief, “how?” Adora’s shrug told Catra she wouldn’t be of much help. Catra shook her head and instead tackled her, holding her tight. “I thought that--”  
“Aww, you missed me!”  
Catra punched her in the arm. “Shut up. I’m just homesick and you happen to be here!”  
"Am I hearing this correctly?" Adora smirked. "You? Homesick of the Fightzone? The place you always hated?"  
"Yeah. That's right."  
Adora was holding her sides with laughter. "Really? This is surprising! Next you're gonna tell me you miss Lonnie, Kyle and Rogelio."  
"Of course I don't!" Catra scoffed.  
“Suuuuure.”

Catra shoved Adora out of her arms and Adora just laughed, then reached for her hand.

“It’s good to see you. Really good.” Her other hand reached out and brushed through Catra’s growing spiky bob. “I like the hair.”

“Got to make something good out of the bad right?” Adora seemed taken aback at such simple words and she smiled. 

“I’m sorry I’ve made you wait for so long. We’re getting to you as fast as possible.”

“Where are you now?” Catra heard a buzz in her ear, and for just a second the Fright Zone fell away. She was on a ship. One that seemed familiar. It was cold and the air was thin and she floated. As well as she could manage, she spun around, and came face to face with Adora’s body, floating like a rag doll. Her eyes widened in horror. “Adora!”

The Fright Zone came back. She had reached out for the blonde. Adora now stood before her and covered Catra’s hand on her cheek with her own.

“Hey. It’s okay.”

“But...you weren’t moving.” Catra was shaken. “I thought I might never see you again, but I didn’t think you might be gone forever!” She spun around looking back and forth. Adora’s eyes widened and she reached out to Catra pulling her close. “Mal! Sir Tao! I don’t care about what you find out! Let me out of here! I have to do something!”

“Shh. Catra. It’s fine.” Adora reassured, her arms tightening around Catra.  
“How can you be so sure? You were knocked out cold in a ship with no air!”  
“It’s just a feeling I think this place is sending me. It’s saying things will work out.”  
“That sounds crazy.”  
“Because being in the middle of space and somehow talking to you isn’t weird enough?”

That got Catra to smile a little. “Fine. You have a point.”  
“Always do.” Adora’s grin was self satisfied. “So who’s Mal?”

That shrieking, pained filled roar came again. Catra’s vision whited out then. She felt it then. Despair. Desperation. Defiance. Indignation. Fury. 

When she came to, everything around her was trashed. Scratch marks were on any surface, and there was no sign of Adora.

“No. Where did, not again, no!” Catra shook her head. “No, no, no~”

“That girl is gone.” It was C’yra again. She took off the heavy travelling cloak she wore and wrapped it around Catra. It was only then that she realized she was naked. 

“Where is she?”

“Wherever her body is. Her presence here is different from mine. I am a soul who has long lost her body. Your…” C’yra’s eyes narrowed, “friend,” she stated softly, “is a soul very connected to yours and both of you have deep connections to magic. That’s probably what made this meeting possible. She was probably not conscious and found you when you called for her.”

“That was Adora.” Catra confirmed. “She’s She-Ra.”

“The Eternian Warrior, huh? Legends really do exist.” C’yra frowned, the expression maring the soft beauty of her face as she seemed ready to snarl. “Tell me, child, the one called Grimalkin who led you here, was she with anyone at the time of this dive?”

“Sir Tao.”

“Thirty years and he still holds onto that ridiculous alias?” C’yra chuckled, biting on the nail of her thumb. “My. Never thought I would be this happy hearing he was slumming around.”

“You know him?”

“Quite well. That tenacious bastard really didn’t get killed during my brother’s attempts to wipe out all the Cait Sith?” The Queen snorted, her expression softening. “Good. At least they still have their father.” The Queen sighed, a hand on her hip. “Magus Devon Angora knows when he meets power, so I’m unsurprised you caught his attention. However, for someone to take on the mantle of Grimalkin? For her to be the one who led you here? That was a grave mistake.” 

“A mistake?” Catra echoed. She heard the roar again.

There, on the horizon was a large creature. White ornate markings almost like lightning bolts were drawn on its cheeks. On its forehead was a circle with a sharp line on the top starting from the left. It had two tails, and glowing magenta eyes. It roared that same sorrowful sound that shook Catra to the core.

“Before I came into this place, I was in a void,” C’yra explained, “but before that it was my daughter’s mindscape. Crafted after our castle -- she was so young when she was taken from there, yet it’s what she always thinks of first when trying to feel safe. Much like this Fright Zone is for you, I guess.”

“So...we ended up in my mindscape instead of hers?”

“No.” C’yra’s voice was very quiet. Hauntingly so. “We have never met, so I should have no link to you. The magic of this place is very familiar. This is your mentor’s space, make no doubt.”

“She’s never seen the Fright Zone.” Catra pointed out. “Am I overpowering her somehow?”

“Perhaps.” C’yra pointed and Catra followed to see the terrifying creature. “They say the Demon Grimalkin is as large as mountains, more powerful than earthquakes and more furious than the ocean. To hold that at bay…”

It roared and screamed. Catra shivered.

“She must have invited the beast in.” C’yra sighed. “And now she barely can contain it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slight Catdora reunion! Finally! It was in basically a mindscape, but still!  
> But it looks like Entrapta, Bow, Adora and Glimmer are in a bit of trouble! What did Adora mean about something in the place they were in telling her things would be okay?  
> Where the heck is Mal in this mindscape thing and why isn't she giving Catra a hand?
> 
> Next Chapter:
> 
> That terrible shrieking roar filled the air and Catra now realized if she listened carefully, she could hear someone screaming within the roar itself.
> 
> Catra thrashed, moving left, right, to avoid more injury, trying to hold the panther-like creature back, it’s green eyes filled with fury until its fangs found her shoulder. Catra screamed in agony as it ripped through to bone.
> 
> “How long are you gonna carry that weight?”


	13. “How long are you gonna carry that weight?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything begins to merge...
> 
> Adora wakes up recalling a vague dream of meeting Catra in the Fright Zone only to find that her, Entrapta, Glimmer and Bow may be worse off than before. Captain Tabby Manx is a stranger that reminds her of someone familiar, but there's something about them that gives Adora a sense of unease.
> 
> Tallstar gets an order from Kittrina that sets her on edge and put Catra and Mal in danger.  
> Catra finally finds Mal in this fake Fight Zone, but something doesn't seem right...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm further on in my writing and it's interesting how characters sometimes zig instead of zag, and when I was posting this I realized some of the seeds for that are actually planted here. 
> 
> I guess, I have once again been reminded by a reality I enjoy when it's depicted in writing: that it doesn't matter how compatible certain personalities are. First impressions can rub the wrong way and when you start adding anyone's trauma baggage (a bit more relevant for some other characters later but we do see some of that between Catra and Mal in this chapter as they begin to understand each other more) things can be grinded to a halt until each party begins to recognize that the "mask" someone wears to protect themselves may not be indicative of who they truly are.

Hey Catra,

This is going to sound weird but…

Did you have something like a dream not too long ago? We were both in the Fright Zone, and there was this giant panther or lion or something that had the saddest roar I’d ever heard. Neither of us knew how we got there. Or at least I didn’t. I just remembered hearing you say my name and I knew I just had to be there, wherever there was.

I’m sorry I didn’t do that more.

Yours,  
Adora

*

“Catra…?” Adora murmured as she began to come to, awoken by a shrill chirping alarm.

“Hailin’ unknown vessel.” That shrill alarm sounded again. Adora cracked her eyes open and looked about. They widened as she found the gravity lacking and she floated through the space. First to Bow, her hand over his nose and mouth. Shallow breaths, but breathing all the same. “Unknown vessel, this is the Purrsia, do you copy?” She pushed over to Glimmer and found the same. Entrapta too. Hordak -- Wrong Hordak seemed to be the only one conscious. She looked at him in question.

“My physiology is much like Horde Prime’s and does not require as much oxygen.” 

Adora frowned at that. “Do what you can to get the others awake.”   
“On it!”

“Unknown Vessel. We are not yet in the biorhythm scannin’ range. Please respond. You are near the edge of the asteroid belt. Out of safety concerns we may have to refrain from attemptin’ rescue at this time dependin’ on your emergency.”

“Darla,” Adora anchored herself by grabbing onto the console, “Bring up the video feed.”

Hair as white as snow. Eyes like the sea -- blue green and piercing. Dark skin, but what caught Adora’s eyes the most were those dark brown ears. The vertical pupils, and how you couldn’t see the sclera easily. The long canines that peaked amongst the look of deep concentration. This person? Whomever they were? They were like Catra. Their ears perked at the video feed.

“We’re here.” Adora responded, breathlessly. The air was frighteningly thin that even talking had her straining for breath. The person on the other side’s eyes widened, dark eyebrows raising.

“I was beginnin’ to think no one was alive. Not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved.”  
That threw Adora for a loop. “We’re alive.” she looked around, “Not doing great, but alive.”

“It’s a start.” the Catra-like person smirked. “Well, I guess that means no parts to sell on the black market today? There goes my quick buck for gamblin’. Phooey.” The pilot chuckled lowly. 

“That...isn’t funny.” Adora grimaced.  
“Geeze. Learn to take a joke, Blondie! You’re definitely not from around here, are you?”   
Adora puffed up her chest, trying to bluster. “How do you know that?”

“Cause I ain’t dumb.” Tabby dismissed with a wave of the hand. “We got your ping but we were a couple of hours out. Sorry for the wait. I’m Captain Tabby Manx of the Cymric Cooperative.”

“I’m...Adora.” Adora wasn’t sure what to follow that up with. She had no fancy title, well, except for one, “I’m also She-Ra.”

“The Eternian Warrior?” She didn’t like how Tabby’s eyes narrowed. “Thought that was a myth?”  
“It isn’t.” Adora found herself gasping for air. “Can you repair us and get us up and running?”

“Negative.” Tab denied. “Too risky this close to the asteroid belt. Any of those pointy rocks break free from whatever gravitational field keeps them together and both of us are in trouble. Pass.”

“Then what do you want us to do? Are you just going to leave us?”

“As Captain, my responsibility is to my crew first, so save your guilt trippin’ for someone who cares. We won’t die to play hero.” Tabby’s eyes were cold as they propped their cheek on a fist, “Silver Storm’s scan shows the damage to your vessel is quite extensive. What the hell did you do? Ram yourselves into the asteroid belt like morons?” 

“Out of curiosity,” Adora managed a small smile but couldn't make eye contact “what would be your response if I were to respond to your question with a ‘yes’?” Adora watched carefully as Tabby looked at her as though she had three heads. “I’m...asking for a friend?”

“Seriously?” Tabby smacked their forehead, but they were smirking. “I swear,” their shoulders were shaking. Adora soon realized it was with laughter. “I attract the strangest kinds.” Tabby puffed up their cheeks then released the air in a stream. “How old are you, dummy?”

“Uh…” Adora wasn’t following. “Why?”  
“Just answer.” Tabby demanded, testy.  
“Twenty-one. Twenty-two, almost.”

“Of course y’had to be a bunch of stupid kids.” Both hands went to Tabby’s face as they took a deep breath. “Me and my soft spots. Grima’s gonna kill me. I can already hear her bitchin’ about mouths to feed, how much more we’ll have to make and all that jazz.” Tabby settled, their expression now impassive, their tone analytical. “Look, we can’t do the repair, just not possible. We’re too low on supplies and hands right now. We were actually dockin’ to do a supply run. We can maybe send y’most of what we got left for supplies. Would that be enough?”

“Please,” Adora leaned heavily on the console. “Just help us out here.”  
“This is why my wife hates kittens...” Tabby sighed. “How many of you?”  
“There’s five of us on this ship.”  
“What can y’give us?” Tabby followed up, dispassionately.  
“Look! We’re running out of air! Can’t we just figure something out later?”

“Fine,” Tabby sighed again, “but if this turns into a domestic dispute I’m holdin’ you personally responsible for making sure I don’t get strangled.” Tabby glanced over their shoulder. “We can accommodate your numbers in our ship easily. We’re big enough for the added people but not big enough to dock your boat.” A pause as Tab looked back again, as if they were speaking to someone else Adora couldn’t see or hear from where the camera was positioned. “We should have enough fuel to tow your ship, if I get my ground team to hurry up. Can’t promise it will look too pretty once we go through a reentry though.”

“That’s fine. We’ll get it repaired.”

A short airy laugh. “Sorry, but Purrsia is past its prime. That thing you got there? It’s antique. Belongs in a museum.” There was a pause as concentration flickered onto Tabby’s face. “Pretty sure my ship’s like eleven hundred years younger and it’s no spring chicken. Good luck finding parts for that junker without payin’ out the nose.” Tab snorted at that. “I’m shocked it's even space worthy.” There was a beep on Tabby’s side and an electronic voice.

‘Two Hundred. Warning. Ship ahead. Lowering speed recommended.’ came a robotic voice.

“Silver Storm, decrease thrust to twenty percent. Initiate boardin’ protocols. We wanna come in nice and easy.” Adora looked up. In the distance she could see a silver and brown ship overhead, closing in. “I’ll be sending one of my crew over. Mog. He and Tom are going to get you a towin’ line set. Once we do that, transferring you onto our vessel should be a sinch. Treat him well.” The screen cut out then.

Somehow the request felt more like a warning or threat.

*

“Find out everything you can about that ‘New Theran’ she says,” Tallstar pulled her hood up as she huddled in an alleyway, scowling, “I’m still the best chance you have of getting your siblings back alive. She says.” She grumbled to herself.

“Asshole.” She fiddled with the small device in her hands and smiled. “Luckily for me, this Catra kid isn’t too bright. Who just hangs out and talks to a stranger they just met and gets physically close then doesn’t even bother to check their clothing? Amateur.” Tallstar sighed as she looked at her feed. “And I’ve been at this long enough to know that you never plant just one.”

Feed four was out. It was the one that had been found. Tallstar didn’t mind, instead putting on an earpiece as she set up the signal to broadcast.

“You seeing this?”

“It seems she’s aware she has odd eyes like the Royal Family and that this isn’t a very common happening in Theran populations.” Came Kittrina’s cool voice loud and clear. “She’s not stupid. However, Aunt De’va is a fool thinking she could run a farce for that long.”

“So what is she, like your sister or something?” Tallstar wondered.

“My family, other than Mother, are all dead.” Kittrina’s voice was very final. “All this confirms is that she’s not in on some hoax with Aunt De’va and casting an illusion spell. It doesn’t mean anything else, not yet anyways.” Kittrina informed, sounding rather bitter. “There on feed three, zoom in on what’s happening there…”

“You’re the boss.”  
“One more thing. The Purrsia is in orbit. Torch the place before it touches down.”  
“Aye-aye.”

*

“Adora!” Catra tried calling again. If it worked once, it had to work again, right? C’yra was beside her, looking increasingly worried as they headed deeper into the Fright Zone, towards Hordak’s lab. Catra could feel her heart in her throat as she tried calling again. “Adora!”

A loud crash behind her caught her attention. She turned to find C’yra in a heap on the floor. She hurriedly pushed herself back to her feet, looking to Catra. “Sorry, I just tripped.”

“It’s okay. If we find Adora, she should have a way out, right?”

“Possibly.” C’yra looked around and edged closer to Catra. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this. You shouldn’t be here. If you were led into this place, it should reflect who led you but there isn’t a single sign of them at all. This is bad...”

“We’ll deal with it when we find Adora.” Catra found the large, heavy doors to the lab and reached for them, pulling and pushing. C’yra went to one door and looked to Catra. She nodded and both of them tugged the heavy metal doorway open.

It was quiet. Just tanks and tanks of green liquid. Catra froze when she saw them. 

Surrounding her. Suffocating her. Drowning her. She couldn’t breathe. There was Horde Prime on the other side, his gaze unblinking, his smile content as she smashed her fists against the glass, then felt all fight fade away from her.

Catra came back to awareness drenched in sweat with the taste of blood in her mouth. She looked below her and found C’yra on the ground, a hand pressed to her neck, a hiss as she spoke and gurgled.

“Run, De’va.” She told Catra. “Run before he gets you too.”  
“De’va?” Catra echoed. C’yra nodded, reaching up to cup her cheek.  
“Mommy loves you, sweetie. Run. Please.”

Catra felt the shadow more than she saw it. It lunged at her, too fast to be seen in more than broad strokes. It looked like her: black, glowing green eyes. But it was different: a split tail, longer canines. It’s mighty paw broke glass with every swipe and Catra leapt, out of reach, then away from another strike again.

“Adora!” She tried calling out. “Of all the times you could have decided not to play the big hero, does it have to be now?”

The creature slammed into her, sending her flying. She hit the ground hard, then willed for something, anything that could help. Another charge was suddenly thwarted by a series of circles interlain with ruins. The creature bashed against it before beginning to move around. Thinking quickly, Catra made another three to seal it off in a cage. It growled, and hissed.

Catra sprinted back to C’yra but found only blood and glass. She looked around frantically, and gasped when she saw Scorpia, pressing a claw to her neck the way the Theran Queen had been moments before.

“Scorpia!?”  
“Wildcat!”  
“What happened to you!?” Catra looked her up and down to the injuries she bore.

“Well,” Scorpia’s gaze lowered as she became reticent. “You did.” 

Catra stumbled over words and sounds before she settled on. “This place is magic. I can fix it. Just let me fix it.”

“Can you?” Scorpia looked at her deeply. Catra paused, then reached out, hoping, praying, saying ‘mend’ in her head over and over again. The wound sealed. Scorpia seemed to be her happy self, and then she felt claws around her shoulder.

That terrible shrieking roar filled the air and Catra now realized if she listened carefully, she could hear someone screaming within the roar itself.

Catra thrashed, moving left, right, to avoid more injury, trying to hold the panther-like creature back, it’s green eyes filled with fury until its fangs found her shoulder. Catra screamed in agony as it ripped through to bone.

“How long are you gonna carry that weight?” 

Those words were murmured so gently, as if the speaker murmured them against her ear. Catra’s eyes snapped open to find Mal sitting on the ground beside her, an arm propped up on her knee, watching the creature that attacked Catra with an impassive gaze. She seemed ethereal, like she wasn’t truly there. Mal reached out and began to pet the creature and it stilled, still pinning Catra beneath its weight.

“Where the hell have you been?” Catra hissed.  
“Tied up.” Came Mal’s simple response.  
“That’s all you have to say for yourself?” Catra sneered. “I could have died!”  
“I would have never let that happen.” Mal responded, voice almost monotone.  
“So you were watching me all this time?” Catra was furious.  
“In a sense. I wasn’t able to…” Mal’s expression became pinched, “interact until now.”  
“I find that hard to believe. More like you hung back on purpose.” Catra heard Mal grunt.  
“I can assure you that I didn’t.”   
“Since when have you ever cared about me?” There was a pause and Catra smirked. “See?”

“Always. You doubt me?” There was no anger, hurt or even curiosity. Mal’s tone was just blank.  
“Of course I do. You’re never consistent!” Catra criticized. Mal’s gaze looked at her blankly.  
“Con..sistent?”

“Don’t screw with me!” Catra’s low, menacing snarl finally got a very silted reaction. Mal’s eyes widened slightly, “You’re kind one moment and then a jerk the next. Nothing I can figure out triggers it. Granted, you’re nowhere near manipulative as Shadow Weaver, but that’s only because an Evil witch like her sets the bar really low.”

“Shadow Weaver.” Mal echoed in that same lifeless voice. “You’ve said that name before.” It was a flash. Catra felt Mal’s hand on her cheek, then the older woman’s forehead pressed against hers. Then Catra could see everything, every moment with the subject in question flashing before her eyes. Being shocked for playing near the Black Garnet. Being rendered immobile. Shadow Weaver being tender to Adora and glaring at her a moment later. Then it was Shadow Weaver’s confrontation after her rescue telling her she was jeopardizing everyone else.

“No! Get out! Stop it! Get out!” Catra tried to pull away but couldn’t with the transformed Theran on top of her. She could hear that mighty roar again. This time the scream Catra could hear within the roar was clearly a woman’s, but she didn’t know what to make of it. Flailing, she punched wildly and caught Mal on the chin. Mal’s head cracked to the side. The older Theran didn’t even so much as wince from the injury. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What’s...wrong with me?” Mal echoed, a detached mumble. New images filled Catra’s vision. Flashes she couldn’t place. None of them stayed long enough for Catra to orient herself. It was a barrage of strong emotions. 

Sorrow. Catra was standing -- no, sitting near three pyres, watching the flames as C’yra held her close and sobbed. Fright. C’yra was holding her again, but running desperately as there was fire everywhere. Agitation. A young Theran with red hair and green eyes looked at her and offered his hand and she looked at it apprehensively. Grief. She was sitting in front of four beds swathed in white sheets. Panic. C’yra was lying in a pool of blood gasping for air. Indignation. Another green eyed red haired Theran appeared -- older than the first -- he smirked and grabbed her by the hair, shoving her into the ground face first. Terror. Suddenly she was running for her life, checking over a shoulder before being grabbed from behind. Contempt. The image shifted to what seemed to be an Eternian man smirking as he lifted a heavy mallet over his shoulder and swung down towards her legs. Defiance. Now she was limping badly on all fours, desperate to get away. Ice cold heavy rain made everything slick. Slipping. Falling. Resignation. Dying, or at least thinking she was, as she laid on wet ground, flat on her back, unable to move, calling weakly for help. Guilt. Sitting down seeing a familiar face -- the face of the Prince in the painting -- only it was grey, lifeless. Dismay. Tab was there now -- holding her, no, it was Mal, that much Catra could piece together, as she fell apart. Disillusionment.

Catra came away from the jumbled mess gasping, shaking and confused.

“I won’t lose anyone else…” Mal’s detached voice was becoming unnerving. “Not again.” Mal gasped, and curled up, covering her face, shivering. “Before it comes to that, I’ll...” 

“You’ll do what?”  
“I’ll burn everything.” Mal’s voice transformed from lifeless to bloodcurdling. “I’ll burn it all!”  
“What the hell does that even mean?” Catra was now pushing her away. “Get ahold of yourself!”

Silence. Mal suddenly went still, head bowed.

“You enjoyed watching me suffer with Shadow Weaver, didn’t you?” The creature above Catra started growling. “Seems you’ve had it rough.” Catra noted. Mal stiffened, but said nothing. “I bet you’re the type who can’t stand it when everyone isn’t as miserable as you are.”

“I have reasons. Fears, mostly.” Mal admitted softly, sounding more like herself. “None of them are right, but I assure you I have never wished you ill, believe it or not. Quite the opposite.”

“You don’t have to lie.” Catra hissed.  
“What makes you think I’m lying?” Mal’s eyebrows drew together.

“I’m used to it. Everyone lies to me.” Catra growled. The creature on top of her did too. “Used to everyone trying to use me, or throw me away when I’m not good enough!” She watched Mal inhale, then exhale, saying nothing. “People telling me that I matter when I don’t.” She snickered and Mal simply hung her head, still silent. “And you know what? I always came back. Better. Stronger! Wiped the smug looks off their face as I showed them I was always better without them. It’s for the best!”

“Is it really, though?” Mal asked softly, closing her eyes. “Or is it like setting yourself on fire?”

That shrieking roar hit Catra’s ears again, but this time she was able to make sense of the person screaming in the sound. It was Mal’s voice, Catra was almost certain of it now. Mal was the one screaming, but she was also here, not even showing a hint of pain.

“How long are you gonna carry that weight?” Mal echoed softly, tired, pained.  
“What do you mean?”

“That feeling of inadequacy. Of being a failure. Living when you shouldn’t have. When it should have been over. Never being worthy of anyone. Being lucky when some gentle soul gives you a chance and terrified you’ll ruin everything you have at any second.” Mal lifted her head, baring her neck. “How do you move on? Is finding peace even possible?”

The creature lunged for Mal. It knocked her over. It went right for Mal’s throat. There was no scream. No fight. Just a gurgle of breath. Blood everywhere. On Catra’s hands, in her mouth. Catra could taste it. See Mal’s lack of struggle as she stared, her eyes unfocused as they stayed fixated on Catra as she made not even a sound of pain.

It clicked. Catra looked at herself now, the transformed self and stared at it as it tore at Mal’s body. She watched Mal remain limp and helpless, encouraging the brutalization even as she craned her head back to make it easier to get to her neck. Catra covered her mouth as a cry threatened to escape as she listened to the snarling, the rattling breaths. Then, finally, everything stilled. The creature stood over its fresh kill. Mal didn’t move.

“Wh-why?” Catra whispered. “Why?” She echoed. “I know you’re stronger than you let on so why!” It startled Catra when she suddenly saw Mal’s arms lift and gently wrapped them around the creature in a tight embrace.

“You can’t hurt me as badly as you hurt yourself,” came a hoarse whisper, “I’m okay with that.”

Mal was now standing. Bloody, mauled, holding Catra very tightly in her arms in a strong hug. She wheezed to breathe, she was barely standing, but she kept holding Catra regardless.

“You need to go, Kitty.” Mal gasped. Catra caught her when her legs couldn’t.  
“Idiot.” She hissed. “Let me heal you here first!”  
“Don’t bother.” Mal winced, pulling away. “There isn’t time.”  
“Time for what!?”

“You’re Grimalkin, aren’t you?” Catra found C’yra approaching them. Mal gasped.   
Mal started, wide eyed. “M--” she shook her head, “Your Majesty.”  
“You always hated being ill and frail.” C’yra dipped her head. “I should have guessed.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Your Highness.” Mal dismissed dipping her head as she wobbled past C’yra, “sorry to disappoint. Now I need Catra to leave, so pardon me.”

“Know that you could never disappoint me.” C’yra called after her. “I’m proud of you. Always have been.” Mal froze in place. C’yra then looked to Catra. “I’ll make sure she gets out.”

“Appreciated.” Mal stepped away from Catra, wobbling, a hand to her neck as she looked about the space and frowned. Everything flickered, and instead of Hordak’s lab they were in a lab that terrified Catra. It was a lot like Horde Prime’s lab. It seemed different but she knew that terrifying sense of order and cleanliness, the clinical unfeeling nature. A table was in the center, just as she remembered. Someone was strapped to it, but Mal’s body was blocking her view. Catra tried to shift to see, but Mal moved as she did. C’yra grasped and went to run over.

“De’va!” C’yra called out. A firm arm barred her from going any further and Mal shook her head.

“There’s no point in trying to help an image of what has already happened, Your Majesty.” Mal warned softly. “That girl is long gone.” Her voice was cool and collected as she looked over to Catra, then her transformed self. “Please, take Cafra out of here.”

“Wait! Aren’t you coming?” Catra looked at Mal, and she smiled.

“I’ll be right behind you.” Mal patted the transformed version of Catra’s head. “Don’t worry. Everything’s under control.” She patted the panther’s head and it nuzzled Mal’s hand before it began leading Catra. “Follow your gut, Kitty, and ask yourself how long you’ll carry that weight.”

“She’s lying, isn’t she?” Catra asked after they had caught up to the panther. C’yra frowned as she kept glancing back until they could no longer see Mal or her silhouette in the shadows.

“The magic here has gotten very unstable. She’s only staying to let you out first.”  
“That’s not the only reason, is it?” Catra badgered.

“De’Va…” C’yra took a shuddering breath, “that was my little girl on that lab table. Oh Lynx -- she was being tortured, wasn’t she?” She was pale as she looked to Catra, her smile was strained. “Now I know why I’m here. With you. We’re connected.”

“How?”

“We’re family.” C’yra smiled as tears rolled down her cheek, pulling Catra into a hug and kissing her forehead. Catra pushed her away, overwhelmed. There were so many questions but all she could think of was that picture in the hallway that Mal didn’t want to dwell on.

“You’re all dead.” Catra felt the words like they were ashes in her mouth. “You mean to tell me that I got the hope that there were more people like me, people who could be my family out there and they’re all DEAD?” She snarled. “What kind of sick, cruel joke is that!?”

“Not all of us.” C’yra murmured, glancing over a shoulder, “In fact, some of them are very close at hand. You just don’t know it yet.” C’yra closed her eyes, shivering. “Now, you really must be going. This space will not hold much longer.” With a mighty shove C’yra pushed her back and Catra’s back hit a set of pillows.

When she opened her eyes, Sir Tao was looking at her worriedly.

“Catra?”  
“I’m...from house D’Riluth.” Catra murmured, staring at the ceiling as she gasped for breath.

“I saw. Your Sigil just appeared in the air a moment ago.” He confirmed, helping her sit up. Catra frowned, glaring at Mal’s still seated, meditating self.

“Hey Mal, you might as well come clean about what you do know!” There was no answer and she hissed. “I know I belong to the Royal House now, so you need to tell me everything you’ve been hiding! Where’s the rest of my family? Who is still alive?” She found Mal didn’t even so much as stir. Her brow furrowed. She turned to Sir Tao, who sighed. “Why isn’t she awake yet?”

Looking at Mal’s unmoving form, Sir Tao nervously fidgeted, scratching the back of his neck.

“I don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone realize I had another Cowboy Bebop reference?
> 
> Yes. Tab has just officially confirmed to the audience, in case it wasn't obvious enough already -- that Mal is their beloved wife. Catra isn't wise to it yet, despite Mal at this point practically telling Catra all sorts of things about Tab short of "and that day when I gave you that tea to help you sleep and I was in a good mood you couldn't place? That was because Tab just ******* me real good." lol
> 
> I think it's a combination of Catra's own inability to see these things (I mean, seriously, even in canon Adora didn't realize she had feelings for Catra but it's because Adora isn't very good at naming her emotions. Despite that, the way she acted made it clear there was affection there) and because in her head Tab and Mal couldn't be two more seperate people. Tab seems genuinely nice and kind at their core with a hint of being rough not because they want to be but because they had to be, and until their blow out a few chapters ago, Mal seemed shady AF to Catra. Now that Catra's aware that Tab was sort of complicit in Mal keeping secrets from everyone, she's softened up to Mal a bit, but is put off by Mal's tendency to flipflop with her sugar and ice personality. Where as Tab, even after that situation comes across hard as nails, a bit of an ass, but someone who cares for the crew's wellbeing so much they would think of a solution like keeping information back until they reach port. (Mind you, this is something real life submarine units do for the same reasons: a distracted sailor too depressed by for example, a parent's death is more likely to cause a dangerous situation, and nothing can be done until they resurface and get back to port). So while Catra is not too keen on how Tab blew up -- the fact that the situation got out of control endangering everybody, and the fact that Tab gave (though not the greatest) apology where as Mal didn't, still puts Tab as being considered more favourably than Mal. 
> 
> In fact, I'd say Catra likes everyone on the ship more than Mal right now, and it isn't completely unwarranted.
> 
> I guess what I'm saying is that Catra gets the logic of why Tab has that system (and Tab's apology helped soften the blow of that) but she thinks Tab is an ass for putting Mal up to it -- not understanding the underlying relationship between Tab and Mal. If she had that awareness she'd realize Mal most likely (and actually did) volunteer to do it like Tab claimed -- precisely to ensure not everything was on Tab's shoulders. If she had that understanding of their relationship, Catra would also then come to realize the sort of person Tab is couldn't love the icy, cryptic, moody parts of Mal if that was all there was to her -- something that is hinted when Tab stated outright a few chapters ago that Mal could really lack tact sometimes and implied they didn't approve of some of the things Mal did. Which is why a couple of chapters back Catra tried to pull the "what would Tab think of this?" card with Mal.
> 
> Then you have Catra's interactions with Mal still having an undercurrent that Mal is still keeping secrets from Catra on purpose. When Catra tries to press her for answers and gets shut down it sort of reinforces in Catra's mind that Mal isn't someone who can be trusted and may even be somewhat manipulative. Add the literal murder Mal committed not to long ago and seemingly brushed off (seemingly is the keyword here, and Catra notes she seems more and more off from it as time passes) and Mal doesn't seem one bit trustworthy.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this one :). Please feel free to leave me a comment. I enjoy them and will respond to each of you ;)
> 
> Next chapter (and I realized I chose this really out of context but maybe that makes this more interesting):
> 
> “So what you’re saying is,” Adora’s hands shook, “they’re not going to let Wordak go?”
> 
> “If you were them, would you?” Tom proposed. “Besides, Horde Prime clones fetch a pretty penny around these parts.” His smile was concerningly devious. “The Eternians want them for goodness knows what. In this part of the Verse, you learn not to ask too many questions.”


	14. "You can appease a lot of people with just a symbol.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora, Entrapta, Glimmer and Bow are saved by the crew of the Purrsia but Wordak's presence starts everything on the wrong foot.  
> Kittrina has figured out who Catra is and is less than pleased.  
> Tom's kindness and patience has Adora considering that their Theran hosts are people with experiences that make them more complicated than hostile.  
> Catra starts to realize she may have been hanging out with a member of her family these last few hours and not even known it.  
> Tabby's disgruntlement seems born from an irrational sense of worry...until it isn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catra and Mal are overdue to meeting up with everyone else soon, yeah?  
> Let's start them down that path then.

Hey Catra!

This is gonna sound weird but we’re very close to finding you! I know I said that before but this time it’s certain. I remember in that dream where we were in the Fright Zone, I said that something about that place told me I was going to be fine. Well, guess what: when I woke up, someone found us.

Not just someone. Another person who’s like you.

Their name is Tabby Manx and they are the Captain of the Purrsia. We’ve kind of started things on the wrong foot, but I hope that can change. Despite Tabby and Moggie being very disgruntled with us, Tom’s been very kind. He even made sure we had a hot meal and explained a few things. I don’t think Tabby and Moggie are bad people. They are just people and it didn’t occur to me they could or would react so strongly to a clone of Horde Prime.

Oh. Yes. One of the Clones have become good friends with Entrapta! We call him Wordak!

Tabby reminds me of you in big and small ways, and I think you’d be happy to finally know there’s someone like you out there. All we have to do is wait for Entrapta to find the signal for the Twilight Topaz and we’re set!

Can’t wait to see you,  
Adora

*

The thud of something on their ship was the first sign that the arrival happened. There was a few minutes before a knocking was heard. Adora unlocked the airlock doors and a moment later, a young man with grey-blue fur and a dishevelled mop of blue hair floated through the bridge in a form fitting suit, a helmet with room for his ears under his arm. Adora stared at him. Simply stared.

“You’re Adora, right? Moggie Blue. Pleasure. Let’s see what we can do to make Tom’s job in the engine room a little easier, okay?” He proposed, floating towards the control panel with such ease that it was clear he was used to working in zero gravity. “Even if we can only give aux power and very limited engines, that’s still gonna be loads better than our ship doing all the thrust.” He had a hand to his chin, his tail flicking as he arrived at his destination.” It’ll save on fuel too.” He began poking around, frowning as he did so, a hum and a ha as he flickered through controls.

“Can I help you with anything kind sir?”

It was a flash of three things. Mog glanced over his shoulder, then reached for something at his right hip. Adora put herself in between him and Wrong Hordak flinched when he saw a gun pointed at Adora’s head. Adora stared down the barrel of a gun and all gentleness and kindness had disappeared from Mog’s eyes, replaced with a cold indifference.

“Let’s...think about this carefully for a second, okay?”  
“There’s nothing to think about! That thing is HIS clone! It should be dead! Move!”  
Adora shook her head. “He’s our...friend. He has a name.” She gestured behind her.

“I am Wrodak!” Wrong Hordak answered the gesture, his smile strained with fear.

Mog clicked the hammer, his scowl deepening. “I don’t care if you named it like it’s your precious pet. No Horde Prime clone was ever in the deal. Get rid of him, or I will!”

“We’re not doing that!”

Mog hissed, the edges of his lips raised showing off his canines in an impressive snarl as he pressed at a small circle by his temple. “Cap. Situation’s changed. They have a clone onboard and won’t let me shoot it.” There was a pause, and Mog’s eyes narrowed. He growled. “What? Are you for real? Fine! Got it! Roger.” He looked back to Adora, lowering the gun. She sighed in relief. “We’ll take it on board, but it stays handcuffed and in our lockup. Got it?”

“But~”

“Or you can stay on this shit raft and die with your friends.” Mog advised, his entire face scrunched with a scowl. “We’re doing you the favour so we set the rules. There is no third option.” His fangs were showing again, his hand still hovering over his gun.

“What are you planning on doing to him?” Adora’s voice was quiet.

“Find out everything it knows about Horde Experiments. That’s about the only thing it’s good for. I wouldn’t even feed it to Claudine.” His movements then were far more rigid and harsh. A moment later he started heading to the Airlock. “Good that you have everybody’s normal suit on. Get prepared in case the tow line causes more structural damage. We’re gonna bring you as close as possible before transfer.”

There was an unsettling groan of metal as whatever Mog hooked onto them reeled them in close. Adora watched as the brown ship came more and more into view before everything shuddered. Then, Darla popped back online.

“Airlock opening.”

A few seconds later, Mog was back, but this time with a man much larger than himself. Where as Mog was an impressive six or so feet, Tom stood head and shoulders above, perhaps even taller than She-Ra. He nodded at her, and quietly scooped up Glimmer and Bow.

“Are you good enough to handle the small one?” Tom gestured with his head towards Entrapta.

“Yeah, I...can manage.”

“Good.” Mog still looked angry. “I’ll take “it” then.” He floated over to Wrodak and slapped a pair of cuffs over his wrists. He looked over to Adora, panicked, worried, and she looked at him sadly and mouthed the word ‘sorry’. Wrodak hung his head and floated over.

It was a short trip, into the wide space that was the loading dock of the Pursia. Standing at a catwalk was another one like Catra -- the person she spoke to. Tabby Manx wasn’t terribly tall, but they cut an impressive figure, with their broad shoulders and solid, curvy build. Adora noticed the long scar that started on their right shoulder, disappeared underneath their shirt -- this time a crop top -- and was there by their hip. It was twisted, gnarled, and between it and the cool gaze in their eyes told a story: tread lightly. This was someone who could beat the odds and come back strong.

“Captain. Here’s the Clone. What do you want me to do with it?” Mog demanded.

“Throw it in the hold.” Tabby sounded bored by the exchange. “Don’t rough it up too much. We want to ask questions and y’know Mal is gonna to want to take samples. To use her words, a livin’ sample is often worth a lot more.”

“Of course.”

“Wait!” Adora called out, running over to Mog, but she was blocked by the sheer wall that was Tom, who still held Bow and Glimmer, though she could hear them beginning to come to. The air was much better here after all. “You can’t just treat him like that!”

“My ship, my rules.” Came Tabby’s cool dismissal.  
“But he didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Neither did the millions of Therans it and the others tortured and experimented on.” Tabby’s eyes were wide and frightening, like a predator sizing up its prey. Wrodak hung his head. Tab caught it from the corner of their eye. “Have anythin’ to say about that, considering you all of a sudden seem to have a conscience?” Tab scoffed.

“I-I,” Wrodak’s eyes grew large with tears, “Horde Prime is not the all seeing God we thought him to be! He is a false prophet! His light is oppression! His~”

“Mog,” Tabby pinched their nose, eyes closed waving at the man in question with the other hand, “get it out of my sight before it makes me sick.” Adora gritted her teeth and watched Mog gleefully lead Wrodak somewhere out of sight. “Is there a problem, little girl?”

Adora looked at both Tom and Tabby. They both looked tough, but she could probably handle both. Perhaps with ease if Bow and Glimmer got up and running in a few moments. Tabby suddenly leapt up to the railing of the catwalk, then sprung from there, landing almost soundlessly beside Adora, throwing an arm over her shoulder. The other had a gun drawn and pressed to Adora’s temple.

“Speak now, or forever hold your peace, kid.”  
“You can’t treat him like this.”  
“I can and I have.”  
“He wasn’t one of the bad ones though!”

“That’s irrelevant.” Tabby dismissed. “Y’know the Horde was a Hive Mind right? As far as I’m concerned they all bear Horde Prime’s sin as part of his collective.”

“But he’s different!” Adora kept pressing.  
“And I already told you my stance:” Tabby lifted their chin defiantly, “I don’t care what you think.”  
“But what you’re doing isn’t right, Captain Manx!”

“Right?” Tabby’s lips split into a chilling smile. “Y’think I give a damn about right?” A sharp peal of laughter. “This isn’t home, girlie, where everyone plays nice accordin’ to your rules! Prime had the biggest stick for centuries and he swung whenever he wanted to. What we do now that he’s gone is our prerogative -- just look at the Eternians!” Tabby scoffed.

“That still hasn’t got anything to do with Wordak!”

“It has everythin’ to do with it.” Tabby corrected. “This is the Verse. Your laws don't matter here. There are only two rules in deep space: take whatever is yours and only the strong get to keep what they take. You failed the second so I’m enactin’ my right to the first.”

“Noted.” Adora murmured between gritted teeth as Tabby let go of her.  
“Good girl. Gotta bit of a brain after all.”

“Look Tab,” Tom, ever the voice of reason, shook his head. “I know you can be all piss and vinegar but how much of this is because she’s Hume -- and I know how much you love Hume -- and how much is this because our ground team hasn’t contacted us directly?”

“You can sit in our lock up with that clone if you’d like, Tomas?” Tab’s snarl showed teeth.  
Tomas stood tall and proud, and Adora could see him rebuffing the subtle threat. “I’ll pass.”  
“Then shut up and go away.” Tab pointed the gun at him. Tom didn’t move an inch.  
“Can’t do that either. Not when you need your head out of your ass. What’s this really about?”

“The Sigil on my arm is burning.” Tabby hissed. “Somethin’ must have happened to Grimalkin and the kid. Somethin’ very bad.”

“Trust Cloudfoot. He’d never lead us astray. We’ll dock, ditch these kids for a bit and rendezvous and you’ll find them both fine. Then you can stop being a grumpy worry wart.”

“Hope you’re right.” A pause. Tabby’s blue eyes went to Adora again. They were gentle as they put the gun away. “Tom will help you patch up. Apologies, but our medic was part of the ground team. When we get our medic back, she’ll check you all over better than Tom or I could.”

*

There was a crackle in Tallstar’s earpiece. “Zoom in on that.” Wordlessly she shifted the camera, it crawled as it saw the dark red runes light up around that young Theran girl -- Catra. She angled it until the whole circle could be seen. “Impossible.”

“What is it?” Tallstar asked, “Kittrina?” She called out after several moments of silence. Then finally there was a shaking breath and an answer.

“The central or base runes are the same as those of House D’Riluth, but not just anyone. Those who come from the line Sired by Devon Angora.” Kittrina explained. “The secondary Runes...one of those matches mine.”

“Meaning?”  
“The secondary runes usually represent parents. The rune that matches mine is the one I got from my mother. The other rune is the father and that doesn’t match mine at all.”

Tallstar couldn’t help but snicker. “So, she really is your long lost sister?”

“I am an only child. Period. My mother only ever chose one mate -- before you decide to be baseless and to suggest she was loose.” Kittrina growled low. “And I will be the only inheritor of C’yra D’riluth the second’s will. Save the image of the runes. I’ll have a talk with our mild mannered minister. I’m already in the sanctuary. In the meantime, prepare to torch the place.”

“Wait, girl, are you crazy?” Tallstar couldn’t believe her ears, “If I’m getting this correct, you just found out you have more family that’s alive, and you want them DEAD?”

“A Hume like you couldn’t possibly understand Theran ways.” Kittrina’s voice was low, almost inaudible, but a whispered, creeping threat that sent shivers down Tallstar’s spine, “I’m going to kill Carnivus for all of his years torturing my mother. For his audacity in thinking he could do the same to me.”

“What does that have to do with anything? How does killing these two help?”

“Because they’re between me and the throne now, and De’va had the audacity of leaving mother and I to suffer in hell alone when she was the one he wanted in the first place. Out of the four of us remaining, she deserves Grandmother’s Legacy the least.”

Tallstar muted her mic for a moment, taking a deep breath and releasing it. “What the hell did I get myself into?” She sighed. “Some crazy political family drama with murder and thrones. Let’s hope I don’t get killed by it too.”

“Do you understand?” Kittrina’s voice grabbed Tallstar’s attention. “There better be nothing but ashes when you’re done, or I’ll make sure you’re nothing but ashes.”

Tallstar gulped and hit the mic. “Understood.”

*

The first thing Glimmer saw when she woke up was Adora.

Dishevelled, her expression taut with worry, but she was alive. She grasped Glimmer’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Glimmer wasn’t sure what compelled her to, but she shot up and threw her arms around Adora, first giggling, then sobbing. Adora smiled and rubbed small circles on her back before kissing her forehead. Glimmer sighed.

“I thought we were gonners.”  
“Me too.”  
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” 

Glimmer pulled away to look about and found Entrapta still out cold. She frowned, relaxing only when she heard a small groan from her.

“How’s your head?” Adora asked. “Looked like you smacked it pretty hard.”  
“It...hurts, but it’s just a bad headache now.”  
“They said their medic will have a better look at us when they land, or they’ll get a doctor.”  
“Where are we?”

Adora steadied her into sitting up. “On a ship. With some people who call themselves Therans. It might get a little bumpy soon. Their Captain just said they were going back to the bridge for the reentry.”

“Yeah,” Came a low, deep voice from around the corner, Adora jumped. She was getting used to that -- they were on a ship full of people who’s hearing was as sharp and acute as Catras, “you can get Autopilot to do a lot of things. Take off and entry though ends up far too risky. Even in this day and age we still have that done manually.” Tom rounded the corner with a tray in hand, and a gentle smile on his scarred face. “A pilot can just more intuitively understand what’s happening than a machine. If that machine doesn’t have your exact scenario and the next closest isn’t close enough, you’re cooked.” He bowed his head to the now awake Glimmer. “Tomcat Maine, but the others usually call me Tomas.”

Glimmer looked at the giant of a Theran who gave her a little fanged smile.

“You...look kind of like…”  
“That’s what I thought too.” Adora murmured lowly. “Act normal, Glimmer!”

“Uh. Right. Uh...Glimmer.” Tom tilted his head as if to suggest he was expecting more, “Acting Queen of Bright Moon.”

“Acting?” Adora questioned. Glimmer gave her a sharp look.

“Welcome, your Majesty.” Adora could have sworn Glimmer shivered at the address and murmured something along the lines of ‘that’s my mom.’ before curling up by bringing her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. Tom’s eyes glowed with curiosity. “Interesting. I’ve heard that name before. Brightmoon. Were you not sister kingdoms with Dark Moon at one point?” 

Glimmer gasped. “We were. I’ve heard the stories. But isn’t Dark Moon gone?”  
“Very much so, but there was a time when we Therans were the Magicats. In those times, Dark Moon was where we hailed from.”

Adora pieced it together. “Glimmer, do you think the ruins we saw in Despondos are…”  
Glimmer nodded. “I was thinking it matched all of those old stories Mom would mention.”

“Huh...they did say our first home planet disappeared in an array of light about eleven hundred years ago.” Tom briefed, then shrugged, moving the tray he held onto a table. Adora sniffed the air and was hit with the aroma of charred onions and sweet carrots and her stomach growled. Glimmer, despite the situation, giggled at the sight. “Eat up.”

“Where’s Bow?” Glimmer asked Tom. He smiled.

“He said something about wanting to work with one of our crew -- Mog. I think your friend’s trying to soften Mog up a little.” Tom’s smile faltered as he sighed and put both hands on his waist, “Look, you don’t seem like bad kids so I’m gonna tell it to you straight. Mog was a victim of Horde Prime’s labs. So was Tab. Then Tab joined the military and joined the task forces responsible for locating and recovering who and what they could from Horde Labs. They don’t say it, but I know they both have a lot of nightmares from all that.”

“So what you’re saying is,” Adora’s hands shook, “they’re not going to let Wordak go?”

“If you were them, would you?” Tom proposed. “Besides, Horde Prime clones fetch a pretty penny around these parts.” His smile was concerningly devious. “The Eternians want them for goodness knows what. In this part of the Verse, you learn not to ask too many questions.”

“But he had nothing to do with it!”

“How can you be sure?” Tom asked softly, “how can you not look at every Horde Prime clone after being through an ordeal like that and ask yourself who it saw die, who it killed. Whether it's a lack of memory is because it did nothing or because the memory wasn’t useful to Prime?”

“I’m telling you Tom, he didn’t do anything.”

“And I’m telling you, kid, the easiest way you can pay back the Captain for the trouble of pulling you guys out of that broken raft you call your ship is leaving us the clone.” He batted back, his face still as stone, but voice gentle. “Tabby has seen shit in those labs. The sort they could never forgive, and this ‘Wordak’ is just a tiny piece, a symbol, of all that. You can appease a lot of people with just a symbol.”

A low groan from Entrapta and Adora noticed Tom’s expression and disposition changed. He became more relaxed. Friendly, his intensity disappearing in a second.

“Homemade vegetable soup for three,” he pointed to the tray he brought in, “get it while it’s still hot. Sorry there isn’t meat in it. We’re fresh out.” He nodded his head and then saw himself out.

“Entrapta’s not going to be happy about this, is she?” Glimmer murmured.  
“Most likely not.” Adora agreed, “We’ll figure out something when we land.”  
“It’s not right.” Glimmer voiced. “I mean, I don’t like them either. Really, but…”

Adora reached out for her hand. “We’ll figure something out. For starters, there’s three of them right now, and four of us. That’s in our favour right?”

“I hope you’re right.”

*

There was a strange scent in the air. One Catra couldn’t quite put her finger on.

Catra’s eyes darted to the limp, almost lifeless form of Mal in Sir Tao’s arms. The Theran Tom cradled the young queen in his arms like she was a prized possession. They went back through the hallway that Catra had come through before, pausing at the family picture of the royal family.

Sir Tom lingered for a moment, looking up to the picture, then to Mal in his arms.

“You know a few things about them too, don’t you?”

“I was Calico’s favourite Tom.” He revealed. “Those kids in that photo are all mine, but they weren’t all of the children I had with her, or all of Cali’s kids either. They’re dead now. Illness took De’Va’s litter. Kal and his twin got caught by the Horde before the Eternians helped, same with the rest of his litter. Her other kids? Some say the Eternians themselves experimented on them. Others say the military forces were wiped out by Horde Prime when he got sick of some insurgents resisting ‘peace’ and with them went some of the Royal family they were protecting.”

“But you look nothing like~”

It was like a ripple in water, and Sir Tao’s look changed. He was as dark as Mal and striped like she was too. When he turned to face Catra, her breath caught. He had such strikingly blue eyes. The same shade as all his odd eyed children shared. The same Catra shared. There was a patch of white on his chest, shaped like a star -- just like the young De’Va in the picture. She backed up, not sure what to say.

“So you’re...my family too?”

“If that’s what you want, kid.” He replied simply. “I’m lousy though. Losing so many of my kittens and unable to do anything to stop it. What kind of a Tom am I, huh?” His smile was strained before another ripple and just like that, he was Sir Tao again. Catra put it together.

“So you’re Magus Devon Angora?” Even as she spoke that name, something sounded hauntingly familiar about it. Where had she heard it before?

“I was. I’m hardly a master if I have no students to teach. Mal was my last one.” He turned to her and his smile was strained. “I shouldn’t have pushed her. She wasn’t ready to take this on.”

“What happened to her?”

“She may have dived too deeply. Or maybe she wasn’t in the right headspace?”

Catra looked away quickly at that suggestion. “We met a patrol earlier. They were trying to...do things to us. She killed them both.”

Catra watched the news hit Sir Tao’s face. First it was a slight nod as he confirmed he heard her, then his face slowly morphed into something Catra could only call pure horror. He then looked at the still unconscious Mal in his arms and his face shifted again into worry, and he murmured something against Mal’s ear which twitched.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m an idiot. I didn’t even ask her how she was actually doing before I…” he shook his head. Sir Tao’s pace picked up when he paused to sniff the air. Catra did the same. That almost sweet scent was getting stronger, and Catra was beginning to notice it was chemical.

“Do you think she’s going to be okay?”  
“I hope so.”  
“What happens when you’re not in the right headspace for a dive like that?”

“I can’t say. Everyone’s mind is different. D--Mal has experienced -- things. The sort a Father would want to protect his daughter from.” He admitted cryptically. “Mal’s mind goes back to that time of her life a lot easier than Tabby and I wish it did. If I ever got the opportunity, I would slit the throats of everyone responsible for what happened to her.” There was panic and anger in his voice. “If she got stuck in that part of her mind, she could be reliving everything for all I know, over and over again. Shit.” Catra quickly figured this line of questioning was only going to get him more agitated than what was helpful.

“I have a question.” Catra tried, mostly to distract him. “I’m from House D’Riluth, and you’re their father, does that make you my Dad as well? I met Queen C’yra. She called me De’Va.”

“Calico’s ghost did that, huh?” He answered, noncommittal, then added, “You’re not De’va, I can tell you that much. I know De’va is a little older than you are.” That caught Catra by surprise -- “is” not “was”, as if Princess De’va was still alive or Sir Tao was a father who hadn’t accepted that death yet. “She was very ill in her early years and thus very sheltered. It must have been your innocence she resonated with, reminded her...” He shook his head.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

They went through towards the doorway when Sir Tao -- or Magus Angora, she wasn’t sure what to call him now -- eyes narrowed. On the ground was a fallen Theran. Catra could smell now, with the chemicals, blood, and lots of it. Without dropping Mal, Sir Tao went up to the body and rolled it over with his foot. Frozen in fear, his throat slashed open, Minister Cloudfoot looked back at them lifelessly. There was a soft hiss in the air.

“No.” He looked over at the damage. “No, we’re too late.”  
Catra covered her mouth. “Can’t we do anything for him?”  
“Not right now. It looks like claws slashed him. Another Theran. Probably. Still nearby too, I bet.”

Catra shakily knelt by Cloudfoot and closed his eyes. “We should take him to the Purrsia. Tab would make sure he got a funeral at least.”

“That would be the right thing but,” Sir Tao shook his head, “we need to go, now.”  
“But if Tab and the others are nearby, we can just call them.”  
“It’s not safe here.” His jaw was clenched.

“Then we can come back later?” There it was. A sound almost as ear splitting as the roar Catra had heard in that strange place that wasn’t quite the Fright Zone. Only, it sounded like a loud bang, a boom. Like a loud blaster or cannon or -- an explosion.

“Shit! Run!”

It came like a mighty roar. Then it was a loud sound, like rushing water, like crumbling earth, bringing heat, blasting it at them. Catra could feel her fur heating up and becoming singed as it grew closer and closer. She closed her eyes and felt an arm wrap around her.

“Hold on!” Sir Tao yelled.

Everything went bright. Everything was loud.  
Then there was silence and darkness.

*

“So Pinky with the crown is Glimmer and Blondie is Adora?” Tab echoed. “Guess instead of findin’ her friends, they found us. We should hold onto that info for now, a bargainin’ chip maybe?”

“A bargaining chip?” Tom snickered at that. “With whom?”

“Well, guess it’s more like blackmail. Mal’s still got somethin’ else she ain’t telling me.” Tab frowned, then glanced over to Tom in the copilot chair who was checking gauges, and nodding along. “Anyways, those Humes’ names match up to what the Kitten would murmur in her sleep.”

“You sound pretty certain about that.”

“Grimalkin would watch over Catra regularly if I couldn’t coax her back to our bed.” Tab brushed off, “If I didn’t know Grima better, I’d accuse her of indecent intentions.”

“It still seems very off brand for her.”

“Well, when you don’t have anythin’ but a vision, tryin’ to find proof would get to you.” Tab snickered. “Saying ‘hi, I have absolutely no proof, but I know who your family is’ just makes y’look crazy, or so Grima would worry.” Tab’s smirk was wide.

“How long did you know about the vision?”

“A day? Tab snorted. “When they had their little spat and I wanted to toss the kid out for messin’ her up pretty bad, that was the card Grima pulled out to protest the decision.”

“Always playing close to the chest.” Tom sighed. “So that’s why she headed for an Outpost?”

“I broke the centrifuge, so she couldn’t run the blood sample she had. How the hell did she get that blood sample?” Tab sighed. “As y’say, in this part of the Verse, sometimes it's best not to ask too many questions. Mal spent most of her teen years out this way. They left an impact.”

“You don’t like how fixated she is.” Tom put a hand to his chin. “You don’t think Mal is right.”

“No, what I think,” Tab hissed, “is that she doesn’t need another member of her family causin’ her grief. She blames herself for Kittrina every bloody second. She doesn’t need to guilt herself over supposedly failing Catra as well. And if she’s wrong? She’ll only be depressed about it. Lynx knows how much she aches for more of her family to be alive.” Tab made a face.

Tom could feel a sense of ease when they began seeing cityscapes and water and mountains. They were getting close. Their conversation was probably nearing its end too as Tab’s focus would turn to landing them safely.

“You’re worried for her.”

“No matter the result, she’s screwed.” Tab noted. “As her spouse, what I see is that my wife set herself up to fail. I know she’ll land hard and I don’t like seein’ her hurt.” Tab’s jaw clenched and Tom sighed at that, turning back to the gauges. “If we change the bearin’ by twenty degrees, we can pick up the Clawdeen-Nu before dockin’. How does that sound?”

Tom was about to agree except he heard Tab’s small gasp and pulled his gaze up to look across the town to acrid smoke pluming high in the air. Tab’s eyes immediately widened as they pressed a few buttons furiously on their consoles, and then their hands dropped from the controls. Tom, by instinct, grabbed them, transferring control to himself.

“What is it, Tabby?”  
“The origin of that smoke? It's the same coordinates as the Outpost.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for those of you keeping track:  
> Catra's related to the Royal Family. Check.  
> Magus Devon Angora is related to her so there's one family member confirmed.  
> Kittrina is also related to her. Kittrina is also very not pleased with this for reasons that get clearer.
> 
> Magus Angora/Sir Tao is indeed confirming what you think he is ;)  
> His slip up in the present tense is no accident. It does confirm that Princess De'Va is not as dead as some would have you believe.
> 
> I'm enjoying that we've also reached a point where we're seeing the crew without Mal and Catra there as it allows me to focus on Tab in a way that makes their relationship with Mal a bit more apparent. When Catra was on the ship and annoyed with Mal, this filtered a lot of how she interpreted the things Tab said about Mal and consequently because we were following how Catra was making sense of these people, that relationship was displayed more subtly. Without Catra there it's very easy to write Tabby as "I am very happily married thank you/doting wifband/spouse)" while also displaying that Tab sees themselves as a Captain first and thus their responsibility is to looking after the crew.
> 
> Next Chapter:
> 
> “So can we see him?” Entrapta smiled hopefully.  
> “No.”  
> “For a little bit?”  
> “Absolutely not.” Mog hissed.  
> “A minute?”
> 
> “Last I checked, Gremlin, ‘No’ is a complete sentence!”


	15. “Trapping her like she’s some sort of wild animal isn’t going to help her calm down!”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No time for writing letters when you're busy going on a mission to save your girlfriend...
> 
> Adora finds the Therans are walking juxtaposition and wonders if she's judging too soon.  
> Tab enlists Entrapta and the BFS to help them save Catra and Mal  
> Catra finds out Mal is the long lost Princess De'Va and that beneath the hard exterior is someone who was maliciously traumatized

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of these next chapters we'll see in the next bit have been the hardest for me to write. I prefer character writing over fight scenes, so I try to focus more on what characters are feeling over what they're doing. I think the biggest challenge for me with action scenes is that in a series like SPOP, where the magic rules are kind of loose, and so are the rules of how technology works, it's hard to grasp for me where the limits should be to make something feel kinetic. 
> 
> In some of my original stuff, because I have a little bit of martial arts history, I find writing fights for that flows better. There is magic in my original setting too, but being the creator I understand the limitations of magic there in a way that is much fuzzier to me for SPOP and MOTU in general (though that might be partially a series thing) I don't know, I'll leave it to you fine folk to tell me how it turns out :).
> 
> Also: if anyone is interested, I have both theme songs in mind for the OCs as well as VAs. :)
> 
> As always, feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply. I love hearing from you and it does make my day.

Entrapta awoke with a ringing in her head and Adora and Glimmer standing over her. After giving her some space, they began speaking to her in whispers.

“So...we’re on this ship,” Glimmer began.  
“A space pirate ship?” Entrapta grinned with glee.  
Glimmer winced. “I’m not sure they’re Pirates. But I’m also not sure if they’re...good people.”  
“Oh.” Entrapta frowned. “This is the part where you tell me something bad, isn’t it?”

Adora sighed. “They have Wordak in their hold and refuse to let him out.”  
“They can’t do that!” Entrapta protested, jumping up to her feet, and feeling them give way.

Adora caught her. “I know,” she comforted, helping her back to the cot, “I’m trying to talk to their Captain and they aren’t hearing any of it. These people, they’ve been hurt badly by the Horde.”

“But Wordak didn’t do anything!”

“How can we know that for sure?” Glimmer murmured softly. Adora looked at Glimmer, her eyes wide with surprise. “Entrapta, you didn’t see Hordak interact with me and Catra after Horde Prime reprogrammed him. He didn’t even recognize us.”

Entrapta’s eyes grew wide. “Wait, no…you can’t be serious...”

“If Hordak could bond with people and Wordak could bond with people,” Glimmer took a shaky breath, “then it’s possible the other clones could too. If they were torturing other Therans like Horde Prime tortured Catra and one of them showed signs of questioning it, he would have wiped their minds. Just like he did Hordak.”

“But….” Entrapta shook her head, “but Hordak remembered himself before he helped us take down Horde Prime! If Wordak did that stuff, he’d remember! We would know by now!”

Adora traded a concerned look with Glimmer, then looked back to Entrapta. “Would we?”  
“We would!” Entrapta doubled down. “Wordak didn’t do anything wrong!”

“You can believe in that all you want, like the little bleeding hearts you are.” The steely voice caught all of their attention. They turned to see grey fur and bright green eyes. “That thing is still Horde Scum. It deserves to be dead. The only reason I haven’t killed it myself is because the Captain has convinced me it’s worth more to us alive.”

Adora looked at the tall Theran man as he pulled his grey-blue hair back out of his face. “Mog.”  
“Good to see you’re all awake. That means we can get you to leave our ship soon. Thank Lynx.”  
“We’re not trying to cause trouble.” Adora tried to placate. “But we won’t leave without Wordak.”

“No trouble?” Mog tilted his head as if stretching. “Sure. That’s what all Hume says. Spare me. You beg us for a favour then you have the audacity to whine about our terms? Typical.” He snorted, tail flicking with annoyance. “The only reason why I haven’t done anything about you is because the Captain, Old Man Tom and Mal are incredibly old school.”

“What do you mean by ‘old school’?” Adora echoed.  
“They believe in the Theran Tradition of Hospitality.” Came a familiar voice. Mog rolled his eyes.

“Bow!” Glimmer screamed. Bow smiled as he slipped past Mog, and Mog’s tense pose relaxed somewhat. Glimmer practically tackled the archer and he caught her, giving her a squeeze.

“Their Hospitality states that since Captain Manx took us into their ship of their own volition, we are officially under their guardianship until we are ready to leave.” Bow looked over to Mog who sneered, “Mog and I were talking about it for a bit.”

“I’m surprised how much he knows about weapon tech is all.” Mog defended, puffing up his chest, “you trade knowledge for knowledge. Only fair.” Bow gave him a smile.

“Well, if you think I’m talented, wait till you see what Entrapta can do.” Bow encouraged. His enthusiasm deflated a little when Mog looked at Entrapta, sniffed in the air and growled.

“She smells like Horde Clones. I’ll pass.” Mog grumbled. Bow sighed.

“Anyways,” Bow shifted the topic, “Captain Manx now has a responsibility to ensure that during our stay with them, little to no harm comes to us or our possessions.” Bow explained, giving Mog a sheepish smile. “In other words, Wordak is fine. Frightened, but fine. Well fed, just isolated. They won’t do anything to harm him because we made it clear we don’t want that. In their eyes he belongs to us, so they have to listen.” Mog crossed his arms and scoffed at them.

“For now. You still owe us a debt for helping you, and we intend to collect.” Mog hissed.  
Bow nodded. “We understand that. In the meantime, I’ll continue helping you in the workshop.”  
“Fine.” Mog uncrossed his arms. “I suppose I can accept that. You’re not half bad, Archer.”

Glimmer and Bow traded looks, and then Glimmer and Adora. Entrapta stared at them.

“So can we see him?” Entrapta smiled hopefully.  
“No.”  
“For a little bit?”  
“Absolutely not.” Mog hissed.  
“A minute?”

“Last I checked, Gremlin, ‘No’ is a complete sentence!” Mog snarled, fangs showing. Adora moved in front of Entrapta. Glimmer in front of Adora, gathering a beam of light in her hands. Mog looked at them all. “You wanna fight, do you? C’mon you idiots! I’d love to go to town, just give me a reason!”

Bow quickly supplanted himself in the middle of them.

“How about everyone calm down for a second, and not take Mog’s baiting?” Bow sighed, face palming. “The other part of the Theran Tradition of Hospitality also says if we show any hostility, the hosts are well within their right to kick us out or KILL us as they see fit.” Adora and Glimmer looked at each other at that. “I’m pretty sure starting a fight when we’re on thin ice with them gives them that pass.”

“We outnumber them…” Glimmer noted in a very quiet voice. Mog threw his head back and laughed at that. “Aren’t you overconfident?”

“Glimmer.” Bow scolded. “No.”

“We’re naturally stronger than most Hume. Also, you aren’t the only ones with magic.” Mog’s grin was toothy. “One against four? Sure, you might beat me, but it won’t be without injuries, I can promise you that. As soon as Captain and Old Man get involved -- let’s just say they come from walks of life where you don’t pull punches. While you’re busy trying not to hurt us too bad, both of them will just kill you without a second thought.”

Glimmer blanched. Bow smacked his forehead. “Don’t provoke. Glimmer.”  
“But he’s threatening us.” Adora jumped in. Bow sighed.

“Only because we aren’t being gracious by their cultural standards. He’s warning us that if we push it, the Rule of Hospitality ends.” Bow stressed again.

“Warning?” Mog chuckled. “Oh come on, do it. Do it! I know you want to!” He grinned. “The sooner you do, the less I have to listen to Tab bitching at me about judging you all too quickly.”

That caught Adora’s attention. “Judging us too quickly, huh?” There was more to the Therans than met the eye, she decided to step back. “Maybe that’s happening on both sides, right Glimmer?” Glimmer met her eyes and frowned. Adora and Glimmer both stepped back, still in front of Entrapta but no longer ready for a fight. Bow sighed with relief. Mog just smirked.

“Bow,” Mog said Bow’s name softly, “you're killing all my fun around here.”

“Mog, I don’t think you actually want to fight us.” Bow frowned, looking at Mog, “You’re angry. Our friend Wordak is connected to something…” Bow paused. “painful for you, isn’t he?”

“Shut up, man! You don’t know jack shit about anyone on this ship!” Mog hissed, “save your touchy feely psychoanalyzing for someone who cares, or better yet, mind your damn business.”

“That’s what I’m saying.” Bow insisted. “We can work through it! We just have to talk it out.”

“Firstly, it’s a Clone of Horde Prime.” Mog reiterated, “and there’s nothing to work through. Only two outcomes are right: we kill it, or hand it to the Eternians for some much needed money.”

Entrapta screamed at that. “We’re not doing that!”

Mog looked at Entrapta coolly and shrugged his shoulders. “That’s not your call, Gremlin.” A loud buzz filled the room and Mog craned his neck to the ceiling, and sighed. “Maybe this is them telling us I’m off babysitting duty. Finally.”

“Attention Honoured Guests. This is your Captain speakin’.” Tabby’s voice was a little too calm, too collected, “We are landin’ in the capital of Terras -- Sera. We will be touchin’ down in less than five. Before we disembark, I have somethin’ important to tell you.”

Glimmer and Adora exchanged a glance, first to Mog, and then to the doorway he stood in. To make a point, Mog loosened his body so he blocked it off even more.

“It’s been brought to my attention that two of you are called Adora and Glimmer. If so, that means you fine folks are from a little backwater planet called Etheria.”

“Wait,” Entrapta murmured, “how did they know that?”  
“We didn’t tell them.” Glimmer assured, looking to Mog, who now growled.

“Captain. Are you shitting me!?” Mog’s hands curled into fists, but he was laughing. 

“If that’s the case, then that means you are also friends with a young Theran we happen to know named Catra.” Bow stood up straighter. Adora’s eyes narrowed, and Glimmer summoned bolts into her hands. Mog smirked at this, cracking his knuckles.

“What did you do to her?” Adora’s voice was low and menacing. “Mog. Let me go to the bridge.”

“No can do. Unless you want to fight about it?” Mog grinned. “C’mon, Blondie, try me.”

“Adora, stop,” Bow grabbed her forearm, “don’t. He’s baiting us again.”

“We’ve been takin’ care of Catra for a little while. She is part of our crew now.” That seemed to make some of the fight disappear from Adora. “We have a big problem though. She and another crewmate named Mal, were our landin’ team. They were takin’ a detour to a Rebel outpost. That outpost is currently up in smoke.”

All fight left Adora and Glimmer like the air in their lungs. Adora’s eyes grew wide.

“No. No! We can’t have gone all of this way from home to find her just for her to be…”

“Nah.” Mog shook his head. “Mal’s a tough cookie.” He informed her. Adora still looked distressed so he shared more. “You think the Captain’s a tough customer? Mal has been tortured by Eternians -- probably the Horde too -- and came out not a total basket case.”

Adora went pale at the thought. “That’s not comforting. Let me talk to Tab, right now!” Mog eyed her, then shrugged, hitting a button on the wall and gesturing for Adora to speak. “Tab, if they’re caught by Eternians now, would they torture Catra?”

“They won’t get caught.” Mog declared. “Captain can take Old man Tom and I two on one and come out on top. Even with us both pissed the hell off.” He grinned. “But Mal? Sure, she’s grumpy. Maybe even a bit bitchy sometimes, but she’s always in control of her rage, even when you think she isn’t.” Mog chuckled at that, looking at the Etherians in front of him.”

“What does this Mal’s person’s rage have to do with this?”

“It’s how we Therans are.” Tab responded through the speaker. “Anger comes easily, fuels us. Fight, flight, or freeze when stressed right?” Adora’s eyes narrowed. “We’re natural hunters. We’re hardwired to fight, and it’s easy to have your anger control you. Those who can tame their rage and turn it to power -- be it physical or magical -- are the scariest Therans you’ll meet.”

“Captain’s not wrong,” Mog added, “Once, Tab thought Mal was going to fly off the handle. Her bloodlust was so overwhelming that even Tab was panicked. We were in a jam. Twenty to one.” 

“What happened?”

“Mal almost single handedly cleared the entire area in a few short spells.” Mog grinned. “Anyone left standing wasn’t shortly after.” Adora winced.This idea of Bloodlust sounded more terrifying than comforting. 

“How do I know she won’t lose control and attack Catra?” Adora hissed.  
“You have some nerve to make that accusation, Adora of Etheria.” Came Tab’s hiss in response.

“Now Captain, don’t get all huffy protecting your woman’s honour and all that.” Mog seemed much more relaxed now, his smile gentle. “Look, a Hume like you can’t understand how Therans work, but I can promise you Catra’s in good hands.” One of his giant paws came down and Adora winced in anticipation. Instead she was left blinking when it patted her on the head very gently. It was such a juxtaposition of his earlier demeanor, a display of kindness really that it threw Adora off. “Catra is our crewmate now.” Mog smiled. “Our family. If there is something Mal would kill for in an instant, it's our crew. Anyone who puts hands on Catra or threatens her is in for a big surprise when they piss Mal off. She’ll eviscerate them.” His expression dropped.

Hope shifted slightly to dread.

“Only issue is, Mal was injured before she went off on this assignment.” Mog revealed, “so she can’t fight forever. We better get out there and help them. We don’t have much time.”

*

Catra felt like she was choking. She coughed and sputtered. Her arms felt burnt. There was someone on top of her and there was still fire everywhere around them. A quiet purr and a louder one alerted her that it was Melog, and with her, King Paw. She allowed her eyes to adjust to find herself in an orange barrier, and just outside it was Sir Tao. His face bloodied and burnt, his free hand not holding the spell held a staff. Catra looked quickly for Mal and found her still and on the ground. King Paw, now certain that Catra was okay, began licking at her face.

“Wakey-wakey!” Sir Tao called then coughed wet and bloody. Catra stared at him.

“Are you crazy!” She yelled. “Why didn’t you get yourself in the barrier?”

“Making it bigger would have made it weaker, and taken more time. We were short on the second and I couldn’t risk the first.” Tao coughed again and then smiled. “I’m an old man. I’ve lived a good life. I’m happy if my girls make it out okay.” Catra merely stared at his burnt form before he sighed heavily and the barrier disappeared. He leaned heavily on his staff, a simple black number with a crescent moon at the top, angled so a Four Point Star balanced in it’s center. With a groan he got to his feet, and with a ripple he was back to being darker. His fur, dark with the faint hint of stripes. His eyes a bright piercing blue. Catra caught him as he nearly fell over and he steadied himself with his staff.

“We should get away from the flames and rest somewhere.”

“No.” Sir Tao -- no, Magus Angora shook his head. “Whoever did this could be setting up to finish us off. We should hide until we can find Purrsia.” He limped over to Mal, his tail flicking. Catra followed. “Can you carry her?”

“If any of you touch me,” one of Mal’s golden eyes stared at them “I’ll rip your hands off myself!”

Magus Angora pushed Catra back and quickly placed a new barrier spell up just as Mal leapt up to her feet, attempting to strike for his throat. The barrier stopped her mere inches from her target and he looked at her, gaze cold.

“You are practically glowing with bloodlust right now. Not a good look, baby girl.” Magus Angora sounded unimpressed. He watched Mal panting for air, and then scratch at her throat with her sharp claws. “Woah! Woah! Hey! Deep breaths! Take deep breaths before you hurt yourself! Do you even know where you are right now?”

Mal’s laughter was deranged. She was still fumbling, stretching bloody welts against her neck and Catra could smell Mal’s blood mixing with the scent of Magus Angora’s, the burnt remains of the church and the chemicals all around them. “I--I can’t breathe!”

“Put the barrier down!” Catra demanded. Magus Angora looked at her wide eyed. “You heard me! Put it down! She doesn’t need a barrier trapping her, she needs us to help her!”

“She’s going to go berserk!” Magus Angora warned.

“Trapping her like she’s some sort of wild animal isn’t going to help her calm down!” Catra protested in return, tugging at his arm. “We need to get out of here, meaning we need her at least cooperative enough to walk! That’s not going to happen if you cage her!” Catra’s eyes were wild when she looked at Mal grabbing and scratching at her neck frantically, and then it clicked. “Her collar.” She looked back to the Magus. “If you’re that scared, then let me in alone.”

“You’re crazy. Have you ever seen a Theran go into a violent frenzy before? If they shift~”

“That metal thing on her spine.” Catra noted, “and her left leg? She can’t transform even if she really wanted to, can she?” The Magus growled.

“In theory.” He admitted with a grumble.

“Sometime a long time ago, she got really badly injured and now she can’t transform anymore because it’ll make those old injuries worse.” Catra turned to Magus Angora. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“But her magic~”

“I’m pretty sure right now in an endurance contest, she’s going to win against you. It’s not like you can keep that barrier up forever. Not in your condition.” Catra countered. The Magus relented, sighing as he lowered his hand. King Paw growled as he stood in front of his partner, and Catra nodded. 

“You’re gonna cut something vital if you go on like that, you know.” Catra called. The barrier dropped. Mal lunged for her and she dodged. Mal crashed into the wood, then popped up, dazed, fingers gripping around that collar again. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

A sharp peal of laughter. “That’s what they all say until they get what they want!”

“They who?” Catra asked. She saw it. A flicker of something, of recognition. Mal struggled to make sense of the question herself, pausing to look around her before backing away.

“Who are you?” Mal spat. “What do you want from me?”

“You said you couldn’t breathe, right?” Catra tried with the obvious. Mal nodded slowly. She raised both hands to show she had nothing in them. “Maybe your collar’s on too tight?” Catra honestly doubted it actually was but suspected Mal felt like it was right now. “If you can come here, I can help you with it.” Mal seemed to freeze, not trusting Catra’s words. Catra nodded.

“What,” Mal’s voice was soft, like a child’s, “are you going to do to me?”

Catra took a shaky breath, hoping her guess was right. “I’ll help you take off the collar,” she paused when she noticed Mal flinch at the words ‘take off’, “Just the collar. Promise.” Mal still hesitated, then began to move a little at a time. Catra moved a step and Mal backed up, shaking her head. “It’s okay. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

A glowing magenta light came from Mal’s chest and Claudine was beside her. Claudine made a strange noise before moving over to Catra and nuzzling against her leg. 

“Claudine...what are you doing?” Mal watched silently as Claudine meowled softly before finally closing the distance between them. “You’re saying...I can trust her then.” Catra smiled at that.

“Okay,” she reassured, “Okay, what I’m going to do now is, I’m going to lift my hands,” she followed through, “and I’m going to unbuckle the collar.” She was slow but the moment Mal felt it loosen, she ripped it away from her throat. Quietly, Claudine picked it up with her mouth and pressed it into Catra’s hand. Catra wrapped it around her own wrist a few times for safekeeping. She planned to give it back when Mal was feeling more normal. “How do you feel?”

“Fine.” Mal was rubbing her neck and taking a few steps away, just enough to be out of arm's reach of her and Magus Angora, who looked at both Theran queens with a gleam in his eyes.

“From the mouths of babes. Of course my panic made it worse.” the Magus berated himself, “so much for keeping a low profile, huh baby girl?” Mal turned to him, frowning. “Though, as selfish as it may sound I miss your natural look. I always thought, despite having my colouring you looked the most like your Mom out of everyone. Good to see you looking like yourself again.”

Catra blinked, and when Mal turned she froze. White ornate markings on her cheek and forehead. A star-like white patch on her chest. Mismatched eyes: one blue, one gold. Behind Mal, two tails emerged and wrapped around her waist. Catra gaped.

“You look just like the little girl on the Queen’s lap.”  
“I’d like to think I’m not five anymore.” Mal’s smile was shaky. “But yeah, guess I look the same.”  
“You’re De’Va, aren't you?” Catra pieced together. Mal’s smile crumbled.

“I am.” She rubbed at her neck. “that pitiful old man is my Dad.” A pause. “Your Grandfather.”  
“My grandfather.” Catra echoed turning and looked at the Magus in a new light.

“Sorry to be the voice of reason,” Magus Angora interrupted, “but we should really get out of the open. Who knows when another attack might happen.” He gestured to Catra. “If I may ask, can you scout ahead? Mal and I aren’t going to be as quick at moving around for a bit.”

“Right.” Catra nodded, “if trouble comes before I can loop back, will the two of you be okay?”

“We’re slow, not weak. We’ll be able to give them a good wallop before you get back.” Magus Angora assured grinning, “besides! We just found out one of our dear family is still alive!” He slapped a hand on Catra’s shoulder. She winced a little but smiled hesitantly. “Despite the events today, I still think the day has been blessed! We need to make it out of this mess so we can have a loud and obnoxious party! Especially since you’re how old now?”

Catra turned her head. “Twenty. Almost Twenty-one, I think.”

“Oh no, we missed you becoming an adult!” Catra smiled when she heard Mal grunt in disapproval. “Well, as your family, Mal and I ought to buy you as many drinks as years you are old! Each of us. Gosh, if Tab gets in on it too, you’re gonna be so wasted.” He laughed warm and boisterously.

“Is that a Theran custom?  
“So much to learn! Go on ahead, we’ll catch up and then we can enjoy our reunion!” 

“Okay…” He was being odd, but Catra felt she’d indulge, “both of you be careful.”

“Will do.” Magus Angora promised, waggling his fingers as Catra left, then praised his luck when it gave him a brief moment to look at his youngest daughter.

“So she’s…?” He trailed off. Mal was luckily aware enough to understand the question.  
“Lybica.” Mal’s voice did still sound far too detached and distant for his comfort though.  
“Lybica’s kitten? She should be only three or four years younger than you.” The Magus frowned.

“She grew up on Etheria, which was in Despondos until recently. The remains of Half Moon are still there.” Mal informed woodenly, “Time runs differently.” She pinched the bridge of her nose like she had a headache. “Calculations say Twenty years for them would be twenty three for us.”

“So Lybica is dead.” He sighed. “All these years we hoped no news would turn to good news.”

“She doesn’t know it but the memory is there.” Mal confirmed, sounding floaty, “I found it trying to help her with a nightmare.” Mal put a hand to her head and groaned. The Magus frowned.

“You’re still not doing too hot, are you?” Magus Angora frowned  
“It’s fine, Dad,” she gave a shaky smile. “I’m fine.” Mal grimaced. “We should go.”  
“De’Va.” He was scowling now as he grabbed her by the wrist. “What is happening with you?”

“Dad, please,” the way she spoke those words made his heart break. She sounded like a child on the verge of tears. He wanted to sweep her up and hold her close but bit back the instinct. She would react poorly if he did in her current state. “there isn’t anything you can do right now.”

“What will help then?” He pressed.

“Not being on Terras.” A pause. “Tabby.” Her words were floaty, like she was slipping away from him again and all he could do was watch.

“Talk to me, De’Va.” He withdrew as if he was burnt when Mal tugged away from him violently, wrapping her arms around herself, shaking her head. “What’s going on in that head of yours? Come back to us.” No response. Now she was shivering. He exhaled shakily, then turned to Claudine who was whining and meowing with distress as she brushed up against his leg. 

“G-get me out of here.” Mal whispered, hand now clawing at her ears. He winced at the sight.

“De’Va, do you know where you are right now?” He asked. There was still no answer, just a bowed head. Thinking quickly, he whispered a spell, and then stretched out his hand and a glowing line extended from his wrist to hers. He was happy that a small tug had her stumbling behind him almost mindlessly, but it made him uneasy.

“Let’s get you somewhere where you feel safe.”

*

“An explosion that big is gonna to draw a lot of attention, attention my crew can’t afford.” Tab’s voice was smooth as velvet, despite the clear distress that seemed to flash in their eyes whenever Adora watched closely. The captain’s voice easily carried over to everyone. “That’s gonna to be a bit of a problem.” The captain looked at the gathered group before them. Mog and Tom looked ready to raise hell, and these darn kids. “We need to get in and out quick.”

“What are you guys, criminals?” Glimmer stared down the captain. Tab smirked.

“Depends who you ask. Some say we’re the only ones with honour around this dump.” Tab swung their arm to the nearby wall and the loud thud reverberated in the loading dock. “Listen, save your judgments for after we get our people back. We’ll have all the time in the world to play crab bucket later. Eternians are bad news, period.” Adora flinched at that declaration again.

“What makes you say that?” Adora asked suspiciously. “Not all of them torture people, do they?”

“The why isn’t really any of your business.” Tab lifted their head in challenge. “And these ones we’ll be facin’ will, so your argument is irrelevant in this situation.”

“We’re wasting time here.” Adora huffed, about to leave. Stopping only when Tom stepped in her way. “Move. We’re getting Catra with or without you.”

“No, you’re getting yourself gunned down by the Eternians.” He hissed.

“I have the sword of Protection! Glimmer has her magic. Bow has his arrows and Entrapta her tech. We don’t need you.”

“They have guns.” Tab noted. “This isn’t your magical paradise, Blondie. No one plays nice and waits for you to be in swingin’ distance.”

Adora growled at that. “Then what’s your bright idea?”

“We need to move quickly and swiftly. As we speak, Eternian patrol is probably lockin’ down the area. Clawdeen-Nu will help with extraction. Blondie, you and I are gonna to pick up our fighter, we’re gonna to have to be sneaky about it. Some of their advanced radar may have picked up its last known location and that’s gonna to be a headache.”

“Why am I with you?”

“Because you’re a hothead and I’m used to reignin’ in Dummies. Not my first rodeo.” Tab turned to Tom. “Big guy...this ain’t a muscle job it’s an extraction, sorry. I need you at the helm of the Purrsia, ready to swoop in. Gremlin,” Entrapta blinked, pointing at herself when her eyes met with Tab’s “how good are you with some weapons? They aren’t the best but...”

“What’s wrong with them?” Entrapta asked.

“Pursia was never a military vessel. It’s a converted planetary trawler for a lot of big game aquatic life. Our loadout is that old tech turned into something more convenient for fightin’ ship to ship and making boardin’ a possible.”

“You really are Pirates!” Entrapta tilted her head. “So how big are we talking?” She asked.  
“We’re not Pirates.” Tab frowned. “The game this ship used to hunt was the size of castles.”  
Entrapta’s eyes lit up. “Your ship used to hunt Space Whales?”

“I believe you’d call what we have ‘energy harpoons’, they act as siphons but Mog equipped them with a way to hold a charge and detonate.” Tab shook their head. “Our weapons are a little unconventional, but your friend -- Bow, was it? He said you were good with that sort of thing.”

“I can make it work.” Entrapta assured. “Maybe give them an upgrade?”

“That’d be appreciated. We’ve hit enough sticky spots where a better weapon loadout would have been handy. I mean it when I say I’ve learned how much of a blessin’ luck is to us and I’m terrified of the day it runs out.”

Entrapta paused for a long moment before responding. “Well...Captain, I don’t think bad luck will be catching up with you today. We’re here and we’ll get them back.”

“Good.” Tab’s expression softened, “and thank you. On the bridge is a ladder. It leads to the weapons deck. Head there.” Tab’s eyes fell on Glimmer, and narrowed. “Mog, go with Pinky.”

“Why me!?” He yelled.  
“Because she can teleport and you’re our sharpshooter. That new eye of yours ready to go?”  
Mog grumbled. “Yeah. It is. Mal better kiss our asses tons for this later.”

Adora saw it, something pained passed over Tab’s face. “We can talk like that when we’ve got her and Catra back safely. Not a moment sooner.” Tab took a breath. “Mog, take to the towers in the city. Stay only long enough to do two things: confirm if you have visual, and take out any nearby Patrols. We want them to be in chaos because if they’re too busy scramblin’ to understand what’s goin’ on, they’re not going to grab our folks.”

“Captain?” It was Bow. Tab looked at him, long and hard.

“Tom can handle piloting and communications in the sky. We need eyes on the ground, that are attemptin’ to get in touch with Mal’s comm. I need someone who can do that, move about the place quickly and get themselves out of a tight spot if it gets hot.” Tab tilted their head, their teal eyes bright. “Think that’s somethin’ you can manage, Archer?”

Bow looked at the captain with grim determination. “You can bet on it.”

“Good. My only request is a simple one: make sure you’re within easy runnin’ distance of at least one of us, since you’re going solo.” Tab looked at everyone. “And those of you in pairs, do NOT leave your partner high and dry. We got small numbers. Two against any number of enemies is always exponentially better than one person alone. It could be the difference between livin’ and dyin’, don’t you forget that. I want everyone comin’ back alive.”

“Understood.” Tom uttered.  
“Hopefully the newbs won’t screw it up.” Mog chuckled.

“Now listen up!” There was something about Tab’s demeanor, the way they held themselves that had Adora snapping at attention. Glimmer did the same. “We have one singular goal. Extraction. We get in, we get them, we get out. No one plays hero today. You’ve travelled too far looking for Catra and I will not lose Mal.” Tab flipped their long braid over their shoulder, eyes narrowed. “A lot of you are untested. I know what my crew can do but you guys are mysteries. I’m takin’ a huge gamble here. Don’t make me regret it.”

“Yes Captain!” Mog saluted with a grin. 

*

The first few stars in the evening blue sky could be seen. Catra sighed sitting down as Magus Angora fidgeted on watch for trouble as he murmured another spell to patch himself up. It was a moment to rest, to collect themselves and Catra didn’t like the sense she was getting from Mal.

She sat on the ground, unspeaking, back pressed to the wall, eyes darting back and forth on either side of them. Her left hand was a little too close to her gun as her jaw clenched and unclenched. Catra made note of it. Mal had no soothing effect about her now, just this sense of utter paranoia. It couldn’t even be described as fear anymore with how intense it was.

“Hey, Magus Angora?”

“My name is Devon, like my eldest son’s. Your Uncle was named after me. Your Aunt too, technically.” The Magus informed, tilting his head in Mal’s direction when he said that. “Magus is a title. It means I am a master of magic.”

“What happens if the Eternians capture us?”

“Well, the first problem is that we didn’t do the fire.” He explained. “Meaning depending on how things burnt, there may be enough evidence to tie us back to the Blade of Maud. Probably.”

“That’s a bad thing, isn’t it?”

“We’re Monarch Revisionists. The Blade of Maud wants House D’Riluth on the throne again with a few changes,” Magus Angora explained, “De’va has personally been a little bit~” Catra’s hair stood up on end when she heard Mal mutter something that sounded like ‘shut up’ “lukewarm to being The Queen of Panthera. She always grumbled that being Princess has already given her too much trouble to last a lifetime, but at the same time, it's her name our people pray on to deliver them from tyranny.” He admitted. 

“That sounds like a lot of pressure.” Catra looked over to Mal who was slowly rocking herself back and forth and trying hard not to listen. It was clear she was failing. “Isn’t that unfair?”

“It comes with the territory of being born Royalty, but especially warrior cultures like ours.” He paused to lick his lips, his eyes darting to Mal. He frowned then looked back to Catra. “I guess that includes you too now. I’m not sure whether to offer my congratulations or condolences.”

“It...doesn’t have to.” Mal’s voice was shaky, and Catra wasn’t liking the smell of fresh blood she caught. “If...you don’t want it…” Mal pulled a hand from her ear and it came away red. “Then we don’t have to...say anything…”

“We can worry about that later, De’va.” Magus Angora was now squatting near her. Mal’s eyes widened and she nearly swiped him. He leaned just out of reach, and uttered a small healing spell sealing the scratches. “Anyways, to finish answering your questions, Catra,” he looked back at the youngest Theran there, “De’va, because of who she is and public support is a threat to Chief Carnivus’ authority.” He sighed with resignation when Mal’s claws went right back to her ears. “If we’re caught, Carnivus will want us dead and De’va publicly executed to destroy any hope people have that a revolution centuring around her could rise up.”

“Executed?” Catra blanched. “He sounds pretty...awful.” Catra whispered.

“He has a long history of playing politics. He felt threatened by the Cait Sith back when we were influential enough to hold a seat on the council. When his sister -- Her Majesty -- took personal interest in me, a Cait Sith, Carnivus worried his power and influence as the Queen’s personal advisor was in jeopardy. His solution? To kill a lot of Cait Sith and throw my leadership over them into question, and by extension whether it was wise for me to have more influence.” 

“So you lost a lot of friends because of it? And family?” Catra put together.  
“Yes.” Magus Angora sighed. “Carnivus also has a problem with feeling he’s owed a lot from Panthera. C’yra the First decided she wanted her daughter to lead. They’re twins, you see, but he always felt he was passed over for his sister.”

“He sounds like a piece of work.” Catra frowned. “I hope we don’t meet him.”

“You and I both. Hell, to appease him, De’va’s mother relented to the idea of Carnivus’ only child and son marrying De’Va since they were similar ages. Then the young boy passed away and Carnivus wanted to rearrange the deal with himself as groom.” The Magus shuddered. “Her Majesty sensibly nipped that in the bud. I suspect he saw De’Va as a culmination of everything he feels is keeping away all he thinks he’s owed: both Cait Sith and C’yra.” 

“So he’s always felt threatened by Mal?” Catra thought about that. “That’s kind of like how Horde Prime felt threatened by anyone resisting him by being individuals.” Catra frowned as she thought even more about it. “I was kind of like that when I took over from Shadow Weaver. It's paranoia and the more I tried to control, the more I lost it. Fear doesn’t really work. Not forever.”

That made him smile. “It’s not real power that they have, it’s an illusion of power created by the fear they spread,” His eyes fluttered close “and fear will always fade. Just give it enough time.”

“How long do you think it’s going to take before people stop fearing him?”  
“That depends. If there is one thing I admire about him, it’s his dedication to the long game.”  
“The long game?”

“De’Va came into her powers young and I think he was always torn between wanting to be able to influence her and fearing she would undermine his goals,” Angora frowned. “He’s tormented her in one way or another practically her whole life not knowing that this has cemented her to be against him. When it became clear to him that he had damaged their relationship to the point that De’va will never follow him willingly, I think he decided to rely on slander.”

Catra snorted at that claim. “How is slander going to help him? He has met Mal before, hasn’t he?” Catra swore the Magus was smiling just a bit. “Mal strikes me as the type of person who would prove him wrong and take the throne just to spite him. He knows that, doesn’t he?”

“Our people adore all of their departed Queen’s daughters, but we’ve had our fair share of mad rulers and would rather avoid that again.” He sighed. “Everyone knows Sunda’s mind is gone from grief now, so there are few to no calls to rally behind her. Most people understand Sunda would just be someone’s puppet. But De’va?” Bitterly he gestured at Mal’s current state, how she seemed to be off in her own world. The unsaid thought seemed to have been along the lines of ‘who did you think did this to her?’ and Catra found herself balking. “If the Queen’s only remaining heirs are too unstable and everyone else’s claim is weaker, that makes Chief Carnivus the natural choice for the throne by default, right? If he proves De’Va is mad, he wins. So he did everything in his power to break her and hope time will do the rest.”

“That sounds sick.”

“He’s a twisted man.” Angora tugged lightly on the glowing lead of magic around his wrist. Mal stumbled back to her feet and the Magus frowned. “That’s enough resting. We should go.”

Catra agreed, taking the lead again, pushing awkwardly through throngs of people, checking over her shoulder every once in a while to find the Magus’ staff, or to see Mal jostle as she was bumped by strangers, her claws digging through fabric into her arms as she bowed her head to let the hood obscure her face. Catra frowned, seeing a flash of blonde hair.

“Adora?” She asked, then yelped when she was suddenly tugged into an alleyway just in time to see four blond headed men in armour pass by. A hand was pressed to her mouth and she held her breath as they passed by them.

“Sorry, Catra.” The Magnus apologized when they were in the clear.  
“It’s okay. Do you think they’re looking for us?”  
“We can’t rule it out.”

“That scent…” Mal’s voice caught both of their ears and they found her curled up on the dusty ground. “why do I know that scent…?” Mal bit her fingers bloody, and Catra looked to her, then to the Magus Angora who seemed agitated with worry but putting on a veneer of calm.

“We’re going to get going again Mal. Right Catra?”

“Right.” Catra led them back in the alleyway when she spotted something in the distance. Red hair. Dark skin. Mechanical limbs. She didn’t know what possessed her, but she moved a little quicker, closing the gap to get a better view. Tallstar turned around just as she did and it hit Catra with full force despite the heat and the sand and other bodies. That same chemical. Her eyes widened. 

“Well hello Catra!” Tallstar greeted charmingly though her tense body gave her away. “Did you find your friend again?”

“It was YOU!”

Tallstar’s eyes widened. She spun around. She took off. Catra growled and ran after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mal = Princess De'va = Catra's Aunt has been ceded since day one in this. 
> 
> I made it clear that she had some connection to Catra by borrowing on 80's Catra -- her familiar being Claudine (Clawdeen), having her associated with Black and magenta as colours (leaving the red to Catra of course). Later on, I started also pulling her other identity Princess De'va D'Riluth, and showing the 80's parallels there. Particularly that "C'yra D'Riluth the second" was the Queen of the Therans (Catra's alt name in the 80's was C'yra of D'Riluth three).
> 
> Why do this? It was a cool idea and because I really wanted to work in an angle of "Catra finds out she's actually a princess" into this, but that requires some living family to be around who's aware of this. What this might mean for Catra down the road? 
> 
> You'll have to wait and see, but Catra = princess is definitely something I want to explore. Especially since there is a lot of tension implied between Eternia and Panthera and oh my the Princess of each of those places have a thing for each other? Hmmm...
> 
> But you now know why Mal has gotten most of the bonding time with Catra, and if you remember something Mal said early on about Cait Sith, you may realize Tab's comment last chapter implies something else: Mal knew already (she just suffers too much emotional constipation to just spit it out / worried she could be wrong and would just hurt Catra or herself with it).
> 
> Other than that, my biggest reason for wanting to do this: I saw the drawings of Finn and was taken back by how they didn't really look like Adora at all. Cartoons are usually pretty hilariously bad at representing the offspring of two characters as being a perfect mix and match of both parents (because let's face it, genes do not work that way) And then there was the comment Noelle made that they dyed their hair blonde to have some resemblance to Adora and my brain started spinning the idea of "what if Finn, biologically speaking, came from someone related to Catra, explaining their close resemblance?"
> 
> So yeah. I kind of like the idea in this AU that eventually Mal will be Finn's biological mother (cat out of the bag super early, I know.) How that comes to be? I have plans for that.
> 
> Also, yes. The Crew are totally cycling through nicknames for Adora. They find Eternian names weird. I mean, Tom is literally a Tomcat and his real name (not yet revealed) is related to Maine Coons. Mog is short for Moggie and his last name implies he's a Russian Blue, Tabby Manx should be pretty self explanatory. Grimalkin is also another word for cat (also was a demon of the catfolk in 80's He-Man), De'va sounds off the beaten path of the name scheme I established -- and then this chapter reveals she's named after her Dad who's name is Devon (another type of cat), so really her name in the context of this is meant as a more feminine version of "Devon". So to hear a name like "Adora" doesn't quite make sense to the Therans...especially when her friend's names are Bow and Glimmer.
> 
> Though I think Tab does likes calling Bow "Archer" instead. Probably makes him sound more sophisticated, lol.
> 
> Next Chapter:
> 
> “You sure you don’t want a gun there, Maverick?” Tab asked as they approached the fallen guards, their expression cold and calculated. “If you were even a little tiny bit slower…”
> 
> “I wasn’t.” Adora pointed out. “That’s what matters in the end.” Adora breathed a shaky sigh.


	16. “Pray to the Goddess Lynx for me.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora finds herself both drawn to Tab's similarities to her and repulsed by how willing they are to take questionable actions.  
> Mog and Glimmer don't see eye to eye on the subject of battle and honour. Glimmer makes a terrible mistake.  
> The Sorceress of Castle Greyskull has made her way to the battlefield and Mal has taken notice.  
> Catra corners Tallstar and thinks she's finally getting answers -- but it seems Tallstar's the one who got the answers she wanted.  
> A desperate Tab realizes that things have escalated beyond the possibility of a good outcome and calls for help from Prince Adam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDITED TO ADD: Original bracket choices did not play nicely with AO3. I forgot this thing is running a slightly odd HTML5 protocol, so the "greater than/less than" renders things weirdly invisible. Now fixed! Sorry for those who might have seen this and thought parts were missing! Turns out they were!
> 
> I had to make a stylistic choice. I wanted something to inform us of people who were talking but were nowhere near the scene at hand since they have comms and are spread out across the city. So dialog in [these brackets] indicates they are over radio.
> 
> And here's where I see Adora and Glimmer's Leeroy Jenkins tendencies causing everyone some major issues. Honestly, if Hordak was anywhere near competent I'm sure the both of them would have been dead several times over, but cartoon logic. If that happened, there wouldn't be a conflict or a show. Or it'd last three episodes.
> 
> Rightfully so to the tone of this fanfic, there are consequences for this, and you'll see certain pins being set up so the incoming bowling ball can strike them down at a terrifyingly hurtling speed. 
> 
> Anyways, as always, your kudos encourage me but your comments really make my day. Feel free to leave both!

Adora skidded to a stop when Tab held up a closed fist. She grit her teeth but watched Tab’s gestures carefully. Their index and middle fingers pointed to the alleyway, then, they pointed to their eyes, then they held up four fingers.

Adora held up four fingers to confirm. Tab nodded. So they were outnumbered. Tab then held their left hand up at a ninety degree angle, then held up two fingers, then they stretched that arm out and indicated another two. Adora moved closer so they were in whisper distance.

“I’ll take the right.” Adora declared. Tab nodded, shifting their gun into their left hand. They held their right fist up, then dropped it, exiting the alleyway at a full blown sprint. Adora followed suit, worried they were about to get bottle necked when they got to the entrance way, but thinking ahead, Tab leapt from wall to wall before leaping around the left corner. Adora had just skidded around the right and heard the shouts and gunfire just as she used the flat of her swords to smash into the helmet of her first guard.

Adora yelped when he fell and the one behind her screamed at her to freeze, barely able to duck a round he fired, and watching it tear the piece of brick it hit apart. Another set of gunfire and he fell at Adora’s feet, bleeding.

“You sure you don’t want a gun there, Maverick?” Tab asked as they approached the fallen guards, their expression cold and calculated. “If you were even a little tiny bit slower…”

“I wasn’t.” Adora pointed out. “That’s what matters in the end.” Adora breathed a shaky sigh.

“Suit yourself.” Tab snorted, shrugging at her. Tab unceremoniously began looting the weapons, starting at the two by them and taking both guns and ammo. “I’ll take what I can carry though, in case you change your mind and decide to gain this astoundin’ thing we call common sense.”

“They’re all dead, aren’t they?”

“Or nearly. Look, I’m not about to take less lethal shots in the heat of the moment, it’s stupid and beggin’ to get killed.” A smirk. “I only do that when I desperately need a thrill, and trust me? Right now my life is plenty thrillin’ as is.” Tab flicked their long braid over a shoulder. “Anyways, chew me out about my methods once we get our lovely ladies back.”

Adora frowned at Tab’s uncomfortable over familiarity. “Our...lovely ladies?” she echoed.

“Catra’s your girlfriend right?” Tab questioned with an easy, lackadaisical smile. “Or almost your girlfriend?” Adora flushed bright red and heard Tab chuckle at that. “Oops.” Tab shrugged but didn’t seem all that genuine. “I guess I’m meddlin’ again. Mal’s gonna have my head for that.”

Adora narrowed her eyes at Tab. “I’m not interested in kidding around with you. Anyone like you who can be comfortable with treating Wordak the way you did is…”

“Is what?” Tab sounded genuinely curious and challenging.  
“Nevermind.” She couldn't help it, she was annoyed. “We’re on a rescue mission. Let’s focus.”  
“All business then?” Tab queried, smirking. “Aye-Aye Captain.” Adora felt her eye twitch.  
“You’re being flippant on purpose, aren’t you?” Adora pressed.  
“I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about.” Tab waved it off, leading them forward.  
“What is your problem? Do you even care or is this all some sort of sick game to you?”

“The one Catra is with? Mal? That’s my wife, -- well, sort of, -- it’s complicated. Royals.” Tab frowned looking away at Adora’s scrupulous look. “Don’t look at me like that. I was just tryin’ to be cutesy, break the tension and everythin’, get me?” Tab blew a stream of air in front of them making their bangs dance in front of their face. “I mean, it’s your feelin’s that have you so bent out of shape to find Catra, isn’t it?” Tab rolled their eyes as they rolled another body over and stooped down. “That’s why I paired you with me. I know exactly how you’re feelin’. I want to scream even -- but I know she’s relyin’ on me. I keep tellin’ myself I gotta keep coolheaded.”

Adora shrunk back like she had been slapped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest you didn’t care about them or you weren’t taking it seriously.”

Tab grinned. “That’s exactly what you were suggestin’, Maverick.” Adora recoiled at that, and Tab’s tail danced behind them. “Mal’s too headstrong sometimes. So is Catra. The longer we go without knowin’ where they are the more concerned I’m gettin’. Guess givin’ people who care about them near heart attacks from fright runs in the family.”

Adora’s eyes widened. “Wait, what family? What do you mean by~”

“Forget I said anything!” Tab smiled a little forcefully, then whipped their head around when a sharp whistle was heard, “and that's our cue. Unless you want to fight through a mob of Patrols, we really ought to get goin’!”

*

Glimmer wasn’t sure whether to be happy or disturbed that the most she could see of Mog was his tail dancing as he lined up another shot. She flinched when he pulled the trigger -- once, twice, three times then five -- and took a few steps back when he stood and spun around, his green eyes bright with a manic sort of glee.

“Alright, on to the next.”  
“Just like that?”

Mog tilted his head at her, his face drawn in confusion. “Not sure I'm following.” He scratched his cheek. “The Captain said to look out for Grimalkin and the kid while monitoring the situation I didn’t see any sign of them and the Eternian Guard is very active right now.”

“That doesn’t mean we have to shoot!” Glimmer noted.   
“If we don’t and they spot us, trust me, they won’t waste a second to take us out.”  
“But they can’t even see us up here!”

“Uh,” Mog tilted his head the other way, “that’s kind of the point of being a sniper.”

“On Etheria, we’d come in blasting first sometimes, but we were always right there and~”

“Oh-ho.” Mog arched an eyebrow. “So it’s okay to shoot first if your opponent can see you but not if they can’t?” He snickered, his single eye closing. “How the hell has your stupidity not gotten you killed, your Highness?”

“Don’t make fun of me!” Glimmer hissed, then added in a quieter voice, “this way of fighting isn’t…”  
Mog opened his eye. “Isn’t what?”  
“...honourable.” Glimmer finished. Mog scoffed.

“Come off your high horse and let’s go to the next tower.” Mog pointed a clawed finger pointing to a bell tower. Then he stretched out his hand. Glimmer didn’t grab it. “What now?”

“What if somebody gets in our crossfire?”  
“They won’t.” Mog stated confidently, patting the barrel of his gun. “I never miss.”  
“But what if you did?”

“Hey, Highness, question for you: how many times has the grand entrance led to capture or someone getting hurt, or worse?” Glimmer was silent. Mog smiled. “Thought so. Tab, Mal, Tom and I? Yeah, half of us have magic and most of us can Shift, but there’s just four of us,” he pointed to the flying ships that zoomed above, “and a hell of a lot of them. Honor means nothing if you’re dead. Now they’re gonna figure out we’re in this tower soon, so let’s go.”

Glimmer reluctantly grabbed his hand and the world spun and shifted around them until they ended up somewhere new: the bell tower he pointed out. Mog immediately began setting up, lying down to line himself up. Glimmer took the binoculars she had been handed and began peering down into the chaos. A radio message came through.

[This is Sunray. We’ve been pinned! Can anyone give support?] It was Adora’s voice. Glimmer froze. Mog grabbed her wrist, shaking his head and mouthing ‘wait’.

“But Adora needs us!”

“She’s with Tab. It’s a tight spot not something to panic about.” Mog reassured. “If it was bad, Tab would have given an emergency code.” He put his eye to his scope and moved his eyepatch. “Connecting to satellite feeds…” Glimmer watched his expression turn grim.

[Shelldrake here.] It was Tom’s voice. [We could probably manage a volley or two but that means going to Formation C as cover will be blown. Permission to proceed?]

[Negative.] It was Tab’s voice cool and commanding. There were several moments punctuated by close gun fire. [Without a sight on the target, we’d be depleting our advantages for no reason. Foxhound, what’s your status?]

“Trying to locate you Sunray. Getting a lot of dust...no,” Mog paused, looking at the nature of what was making his view worse, “smoke. More than just that outpost seems to be on fire now. A clean shot might not be possible.”

[Oh great, well shit.] Tab cursed. [Acorn, you just reported a commotion little ways off? Head in that direction, do not try to rendezvous with us. Leave me and Adora to this. It’s not out of control yet. We’ll figure something out. Foxhound, try to thin the crowd. Over.]

Mog frowned at that. “Affirmative.”

“I’m going after them!” Glimmer declared. Mog tried to spin around to catch her but with a whirring, she was gone.

“Sunray, we have a problem. Her Highness is heading your way.”

[Of course she bloody is. Frickken dummy is just like her friend. Bravado and brashness without a lick of common sense!] Tab sounded genuinely annoyed.

“They getting that under your skin Captain?” Mog smiled, when he heard Tab growl. “That’s not like you at all.” He laughed.

[It’s not just our lives at risk, its Mal and Catra’s, and since they aren’t with us they have no clue of the scope of the danger. Which is a problem.] Mog’s laughter died off. Of course. It was because of Mal being mixed up in this. It always came back to Mal. [Mog, if we don’t all end up dead, remind me to smack Her Royal Pain In My Ass later.]

He snickered. “Aye-Aye Captain.”

*

“I lost her! Damn it!” Magus Angora was flustered and on the verge of panic. He tugged at the thin bright line that connected him to his youngest, watching her stumble over her feet before catching herself on the wall. “Now would be a good time to figure yourself out, De’Va, c’mon!”

“To them, we’re just beasts they’re hunting.” Mal murmured. Her tone gave him chills.

For a moment the desert town fell away. They were in a forest. The Magus scowled when he saw a young girl sprint past them. She tripped over a log, rolling in the mud once or twice before coming to a stop. He knew the scene well, from when she tried to stand and found her ankle broken, to the shouts in the forest for the capture of the Queenslayer. The girl forced herself back to her feet and ran through the pain, stopping only when ships burst through the trees to the left and then to the right, dousing her in blinding lights.

“Why are you showing me this now, De’va?” He turned back to her and the forest evaporated to sand again. Mal leaned heavily on the wall, covering her face. “Oh great.” He scowled, taking a step back, shaking his head. “I’m not speaking De’Va anymore, am I?”

“They are hunting us.” Mal practically disappeared from his sight. When she appeared again, he felt a sharp stabbing through his side. “But they forgot something. We are the children of the Magicats. Some of the best sorcerers in the Verse. We are the children of the Qadlings, one of the strongest warriors the universe has seen. We are Therans, and we are predators.” 

“Wh-where are you going?” He fell to his knees as the magic that tethered her to him broke.

“That scent? It’s the Sorceress of Castle Greyskull. Adam’s betrayer. Chief Carnivius’ collaborator. Don’t you recognize it father?” Mal shook her head. “Nevermind. I’ll take care of it.”

Magus Angora paused only to inhale deeply and scowl. “Her? Now? What is she doing here?”

“Seems someone told her I was here.” Mal hummed. “I think it’s time she remembers what happens when you think you can hunt predators: we tear your throat out.”

*

Catra pushed through another throng of people. She had long since lost track of Melog. She only remembered hoping Melog didn’t get lost, or even better, somehow got ahead since she could run faster. 

Her vision was narrow. With a sea of blue helmets it was easy to spot red hair. Tallstar was fast, her limbs made her tricky, and she was going to be hunted down. Her lungs burned. Her legs ached, but she kept sprinting and sprinting. She was closing in enough that they could exchange words.

“It’s nothing personal!” Tallstar called over her shoulder. “Just business!”  
“Like I care! Get back over here!”  
“Can’t do that or my boss gets angry! Sorry!”

Catra saw her take a corner sharply, and nearly skidded past the alleyway before pivoting, hard, ignoring a twinge in her knee as she went down the alley and Tallstar was in sight again.

“You really are persistent!”  
“You knew who they were! So why?”  
“I don’t kiss and tell!”

Tallstar’s legs suddenly extended and she leapt up to a building. She peaked over from the top and waved at Catra with a grin before running off. Catra growled, feeling rage build up and then it suddenly stopped as Mal’s words came rushing back to her:

“You have no control over your other form. That’s going to be a huge problem for anyone who wants to be around you soon.”

“Well no one is around.” Catra murmured. “Come on! Shift!” Nothing. “Of course I can’t transform when I need to! Damn it!” She ran towards the wall, kicking off from one to the next before she landed, shakily on top of the roof. From here, she had a better view and frowned.

“That chemical...it exploded but burnt off really quickly. It shouldn’t have spread...this much, should it?” Catra frowned. Tallstar would have the answers to that. She had to. But she wasn’t in sight. Catra paused, and closed her eyes and just let her senses tell her. “It’s a rooftop. It should be easy to find you, or sniff you out from the smells in the street up here…or if Melog came that’d help to. Where are you Melog?” 

There.

Catra imagined the panther-like creature coming up to her, the other self, nuzzling against her. There was a light, and then Catra could feel herself running more swiftly than ever before on four legs, maneuvering quickly and balanced, as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Red hair came into view again. Along with mechanical legs. She glanced over her shoulder.

“A panther?”

“You’re mine!” Catra found it hard to growl beyond the long fangs but her voice came through and Tallstar’s eyes widened with realization and dread.

“Crap! It’s the Theran Girl again!” Tallstar dove for cover. “Kitt! Now’s a good time to bail me out! What the hell do you mean you’re busy!?”

Something told her Melog was nearby. Catra reached out for her and Melog appeared from the otherside. Tallstar shrieked when Melog grabbed her arm and began punching to get herself free. Catra tackled her to the ground and she screamed.

“Stop! Stop it! I’ll do whatever you say! Stop it!” Tallstar demanded.

Catra stopped, and felt her bones creak as they shifted back into different configurations. She felt her muscles stretch, then sting, and sat uptop Tallstar. Melog nuzzled against her and she scowled down at her.

“Who are you?”  
“I already told you! I’m Tallstar!”  
“I need more than that.” Catra demanded. Tallstar glared.

“I’m one of the Star Siblings. I’m working with a Theran. She said she’d help me get my siblings back if I did what she said.”

“And what did that include?” Catra grabbed her by the collar, and Tallstar looked away.

“Spying and keeping an eye on Grimalkin of the Cymric Cooperative and confirming she and Princess De’Va D’riluth were one and the same person and gathering evidence to support it.”

“So Mal really is a Princess. Who would have guessed?” Catra murmured mostly to herself.

“Then you showed up around the Princess, and my Boss started taking quite the interest in you and who you were.” Tallstar squinted. Guessing from the look of you, you’re of age too.”

Catra hissed. “What does my age have to do with anything?”

“Oh…”Tallstar’s eyes widened. “I am so stupid. If you’re of age, Grimalkin not only has another card to play against her but I have some leverage against the Boss now.” Tallstar grinned and leaned back. “Hey, y’know how I just said I’d do anything you wanted?” She launched forward, headbutting Catra. “Well, psych!” Catra lost grasp of her and was kicked away as Tallstar leapt to her feet, grinning. “Sorry! But my sibs can’t wait any longer!”

Catra could feel blood dripping down her forehead as she clutched her head. “Get back here!”

A loud crack like thunder was heard. Catra looked up, in the direction of a bell tower in time to see a flash in the air, and then one of Tallstar’s mechanical legs exploded underneath her as she screamed. Scrambling to her feet, Catra sprinted over and caught Tallstar before she could fall over the edge of the building.

“Th-thanks.” Tallstar looked flustered. “Look, you should probably run. That was a sniper.”

Catra shook her head. “I still want some answers. Besides, if they wanted to take us out,” Catra looked back across to the belltower, staring it down. “they would have already fired again.”

“Good point.” Tallstar grimaced, then smiled. “One of yours then?”  
“I hope.”

*

Two bright blasts of magical energy took out the Eternians that just flanked them. Adora, as She-Ra glowed with magic, and sighed with relief when she saw Magenta hair. Glimmer grinned and waved at them both before disappearing again and they heard the panicked screams of more patrols before Glimmer appeared beside Adora and grinned, hugging her.

“You’re safe. I was getting worried.”

“We had it under control, Your Majesty.” Tab interrupted, pushing to their feet, gritting out the words. “In fact, my real concern is who has Mog’s six?”

“Mog seems rather capable, I mean he’s only sneaking around where people can’t see him, taking them out before they even know he was there.” Glimmer dismissed. 

“We have less numbers.” Tab groused. “It’s called tactics. Honour has no place in survival.”

“Yes, well I’m better at being frontline, and he’s far from the real danger.” Glimmer declared propping both fists on her hips. “I’m sure he can handle a few minutes with~”

“A sniper rifle like his can hit from nearly three clicks away, but like any sniper rifle it’s heavy and cumbersome. The moment you fire, your position is compromised, especially if there’s other snipers, which is likely.”

“I doubt it.” Glimmer argued. “We would have definately seen them by now!”

“Unless they didn’t want to show their hand just yet. Point is, you’ve left Mog compromised.” Tab shut down Glimmer’s argument. “If you have to evacuate and you’re alone, do you leave your weapon there or risk someone catchin’ up to you? Now he has no one to back him up.” Tab jabbed their finger at her, hitting her squarely on the collarbone. “Your job was specifically to be his spotter so he doesn’t get ambushed.” Glimmer glared at them.

“It’s not that big a deal!” Glimmer protested, backing up a step. “He’ll be fine. It’s two minutes.”

“It’ll be a big deal if my man’s dead because of your impatience and lack of trust in me and Adora’s capabilities got him killed!” Tab spat.

“I don’t doubt Adora for a second, but you on the other hand!” Glimmer was getting angry, “if you had gotten Adora hurt, what would you be saying to me then?”

“Irrelevant.” Tab crossed their arms over their chest. “I’ve been at this sort of gig for years. If anyone is gonna be dead weight it's you and her.”

“I’d like to hear you say that after you take one of my bolts to the face!” Glimmer’s hand glowed.  
“If you can get it to hit first. Doubt it though.” Tab cocked their gun and aimed.

“Guys!” Adora stepped between them, staring them both down. Glimmer’s bolt disappeared and Tab clicked the safety back on and put it back in their holster. “We have a job to do.”

“Agreed.” Tab spun around. “Meaning we ought to be at our proper stations, Glimmer.”  
“You and Adora were clearly in more danger, so you needed the help, not Mog! He has it easy!”

“Glimmer,” Adora softly interjected, “Stop it.”

“You clearly don’t get how this works!” Tab hissed, ignoring Adora’s weak attempt to diffuse the growing argument before it exploded. “Everyone has a function. We complete the mission not by jumpin’ the gun but by trustin’ our teammates to fulfill their role even when things get hairy. Mog is not frontline. He is the furthest you can get. That’s why if he is not runnin’ artillery back on the ship, he’s with one of us. Forgettin’ that exposes him to unnecessary danger -- which compromises the entire mission!”

Glimmer frowned. “What, so I should have waited for us to find out you got Adora killed first?”

“If anythin’, Adora is gonna get herself killed!” Tab got right into Glimmer’s face with those words and Glimmer backed up, hand curling into a fist and a glow surrounding it. Adora realized it, and grabbed Glimmer’s wrist and shook her head. Then she turned to Tab.

“Look, I know you’re worried about Catra and Mal.” Adora spoke softly, “but we shouldn’t argue with each other.”

“Don’t you dare lecture me about arguin’!” Tab gritted their teeth. “If you had done this with stealth like I said in the first place, we wouldn’t have ever gotten pinned!”

“How can we be both fast and stealthy with that many of them running around?” Adora argued.

“By not chargin’ in like an idiot, and usin’ our brain to move around patrols, not through them! We’re doing an extraction mission, not a commando! Did you learn nothin’ in the Horde?”

That made Adora’s blood run cold. “You know I’m from the Horde.”

“The way you hold yourself says everythin’.” Tab’s blue eyes glowed. “Pity that despite havin’ a cooler head than Catra you don’t seem to understand how to follow a fuckin’ order, or what a chain of command is!” Tab pushed passed Adora to look over Glimmer. “Lemme break it down: you aren’t leadin’ this shit. You’re no longer on your own goddamn boat. Your rules don’t apply.”

Adora’s expression grew dark. “So you expect us to just trust you to lead us after you threw our friend in some sort of lock up?”

“Trust me, to keep you alive around here? Yes! I am!” Tab declared, “because I know both of you are at least smart enough to understand that you are way out of your depth! My crew and I are the ones keeping your sorry asses alive!” A high pitched whistle alerted the three of them.

“Guys,” Adora called to Tab and Glimmer, “more of them are coming.”

“Let them.” Tab’s voice was so oddly quiet now, and Adora felt a chill down her spine when she noticed Tab glaring at Glimmer. “Go back to Mog, now.”

“I won’t. Adora needs me more.” Glimmer glared. “Got a problem with that, Captain?”

“I hate people like you.” Tab said simply. “Royals. You believe your title and magic makes you more important and special than anyone else. Makes you invincible. Above rules and order.”

Glimmer’s look soured. “You know, all you had to say was ‘your welcome’, when I saved you.”

“Whether you’re a sheltered princess who dies with fear on her face because you got yourself in a jam you couldn’t get out of,” Tab scoffed, “or a hardened soldier who faces the end with dignity, death doesn’t give a damn.” With that, Tab turned and began heading down the alleyway.

“Where are you going?” Glimmer demanded.

“To pick up our fighter. Alone. You said Adora needs you? Well I don’t.” Tab snarled. “All you’ve done is jeopardize this operation. I’m gonna do everythin’ to salvage it, with or without your help. Get killed for all I care, I’m gettin’ my crew back safe and sound.”

Adora’s eyes widened. “Tab, we shouldn’t split up! If you get surrounded~”

“Hold this position until I can slip away. Then do whatever the hell you want. I don’t care. I’ll be radio silent until I get the Clawdeen-Nu.” Tab paused, glancing backward, “and I pray to the Goddess Lynx that Mog is alive, or I will tear your ass. I will not lose any of my family because neither of you can be bothered to think about the ramifications of your actions.”

*

Mog smiled as he looked down his scope. “Hey Acorn -- page this to the rest of the team. Target Charlie spotted. Location? Block F7. Seems she’s got a friend too. She’s unharmed, but who she’s fighting isn’t.”

Bow’s voice came through on the Comm. [Great! There’s Catra! Do you see anyone else with her other than who she’s fighting?]

“Negative.” Mog frowned, looking about his scope. “No sign of Target Mike. Definitely more fires though.”

Bow’s smile could almost be heard over the comms. [Well, I have good news. Entrapta and I located a signal. We think it could be Mal’s. We’re giving it a try right now. Is Glimmer back yet?]

“No. I’m going to have to move soon anyways. The fire is coming my way. Rather fast--- what!?”

Mog put his eye back down to the scope and saw two things that did not bode well. What seemed to be an entire platoon of Eternians marching down the main street and a lone Theran. Mog took a closer look at the Eternians and his blood ran cold.

“TOM! We got a BIG problem!”  
[What is it?] Tom called over.  
“It’s the Sorceress!”  
[I guess we cause enough commotion then?] Tom answered. [Sunray, do you copy?]

[This is Adora. Tab just left us and went ahead.] Adora sounded shaky, [we had a bit of a disagreement and they are now radio silent heading for the fighter.]

Tom grunted at that. [Shit timing. You three couldn’t last longer than a few minutes without pissing each other off, could you?]

Glimmer’s voice broke on the line and Mog was scowling gravely now. [Look, I can teleport Adora and I to where Catra is, then get Bow and Entrapta. We can be out of your hair in less than twenty minutes. Problem solved, and I’m sure your Captain would prefer it that way.]

[Sorry, Your Majesty but our win conditions have just had one hell of an update.] Tom’s laugh was as strained as it was eerie. [If the Sorceress is getting involved, we have a hell of a lot more problems now. We might not make it out of this one unscathed.]

[Well,] came a husky voice, [then I am most certainly sad to add to the barrel of bad news, my friends.] Mog froze at that voice. He didn’t recognize it. [This is Sir Tao of the Sword of Maud. Grimalkin is not with me. I lost track of her. At the time her magic was becoming increasingly unstable.]

Mog’s eyes widened and he put his eye back to the scope to see that single Theran approaching the Platoon. He could see a plume of flames surrounding them as they staggered forward. “No way.”

[Do you know where she was heading?] Tom asked.  
[To kill the sorceress.]

*

Tab’s hands were shaking as they placed the clothes aside and was assaulted with the scent of medicinal herbs and Mal. They scowled, reaching for the Dummy Plug and starting things up. Their eyes flickered over the gauges and they scowled.

“They don’t get it. If we have to flee this place we’re gonna need a goddamn miracle.” They murmured, letting their forehead rest on the dashboard. “This isn’t as simple as grab Mal and Catra and jet. We don’t have any supplies left. If we don’t die here, we’ll die in space. We’ll starve or be adrift without fuel or...” There was a burning in their arm, along the sigil, intense and fierce and terrifying. Grabbing Mal’s goggles, Tab threw them over their own eyes and then brushed their hair along their neck aside, taking a breath.

All they could feel was pain. All they could see was white. It took everything Tab had not to scream, but after a few moments it settled. There was an awareness that went beyond Tab’s body now -- wingspan. How much space was needed to take off. Ideal altitude above the city. They were drenched in sweat. When they rubbed at their nose, their hand came away bloody.

“Why the hell were your settings turned all the way up Mal? What the hell is goin’ on? What were you anticipatin’?” Tab took a shaky breath and centered themselves. “Clawdeen-Nu, set a timer for the max link time I can manage. Give me a ten minute warnin’.”

“Calculating.” There was a beep and Tab smashed their hand in the Dash.

“Forty five fuckin’ minutes? Great. We’re gonna need a miracle.” Tab sighed. “That’s not going to be enough. We’re screwed.” Tab flicked the radios on and froze when she heard that word. Sorceress.

The Captain’s entire body was shaking now. Not just their arms. They squeezed their eyes shut.

“Randor’s Sorceress? I didn’t watch Devon die, watched Grima fall to pieces and then pull herself together just for this.” Tab’s breath came in short pants. “Grima, what would you do? I’m a good soldier with a few tricks. I can do skirmishes, but you always saw the bigger picture, the end goal.” Blue eyes fell closed. “I want you safe, but then what?” Tab breathed deeply, calming before reaching into the leather jacket behind them and finding a little cylindrical device.

“You’d never leave this behind Mal.” Tab’s hands twitched. “Unless you already knew I needed it. Let’s pray I can buy them enough time.” A click, a beep and then a voice.

[“This is A1. I’ve been meaning to hear from you De’va. We have reports that downtown is~”]  
“It isn’t De’va, Prince Adam. It’s Tab.”  
[“Ah.”] An awkward pause. [“Her spouse.”]  
“By heart only.” Tab gritted their teeth.  
[“This is unexpected. You never liked talking to me.”]

"Still don't, in case that wasn't obvious." Tab grumbled. “Have you ever held the person you loved in your arms as they cried about the expectations they’re chained to, gave them a choice and saw them smile for the first time ever?”

[“Can’t say I have,” Adam’s voice was soft, “but that’s probably because I’m more likely to be in her shoes than yours.”] A pause. [“And you know what, I know she is forever grateful to you for being the first person in her life who told her she had a choice to be just a person.”] Tab snorted.

“Spare me your platitudes. Mal is self sacrificin’ to a fault. When all this shakes out, Panthera and Eternia will need proof that we’re in this together.” It hit Tab hard and they could feel this weight of frustration choking them. “I know how you Royals work when it comes to politics. Bloodlines are bargainin' chips. What a person wants doesn't matter."

[“We’ve discussed this. There are treaties we could sign, or other things that could show our new unity.”] Adam sighed. [“If and only if it came to a political marriage, I wouldn’t take all her time.”]

“You don’t have to.” Tab snorted, feeling the familiar flush of rage. “Panthera will.” Adam sighed.

[“It’s been a long time, Tabby, but I’m guessing this isn’t a wellness call, is it?”] He broke through and Tab felt their breath hitch, felt a sting in their eyes. [“I take it something happened to De’va?”]

[“Grima is in danger. It’s the Sorceress.”]

There was a pause and then [“Understood. We had turned in that direction. Was about to tell her we’d be late for our meeting if she wasn’t caught up in that mess herself.”]

Tab began flicking on switches, feeling the engines whirring beneath them. “How long?”  
[“Hard to say. We need to mobilize a decent force to handle the chaos.”]

“I’ll try to keep us all alive until then.” Tab bowed their head, “Pray to the Goddess Lynx for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I wrote this at first, I wasn't expecting Tab to have such a big "what the hell" blow up at Glimmer but then it made sense when I thought of it. From their perspective they know:
> 
> Adora nearly got both of them killed with her tendency to rush in, making their objective (to get a bit more firepower, but primarily a speedy vehicle to do a quick grab and run via Clawdeen-Nu) so much harder as they are hitting more resistance now
> 
> Mog is incredibly vulnerable with no one near him to give back up.
> 
> Glimmer and Adora have set a precedent that they can't stay on task which makes Tab now wonder if Bow -- who is currently serving as their eyes and a key point in their communication -- will do the same, which would make things so much worse.
> 
> Riffing off of the previous -- Tom is now ALONE with Entrapta on the ship, and if Glimmer and Adora aren't trustworthy, is she? What about the clone they keep insisting is their friend? What if Entrapta releases him while all this is occuring?
> 
> No one knows where Mal or Catra is yet, and Tab knows neither Mal nor Catra know just how much shit has hit the fan.
> 
> Having Tab lose focus like this in the first draft was surprising, but when I thought of it, it made sense and seemed inevitable. Emotions are running VERY high for everyone, including Tab, even if they play it off by being jocose. Tab even hints early in the chapter why this eventually happens: They are incredibly worried about Mal (and this is hinted a lot last chapter by their inability to join Mog's light ribbing about Mal having to owe them later), and as more things get derailed because this blended group simply do not trust each other to watch their backs, Tab is watching their chances of success AND survival go down the drain. At the height of realizing how much is out of their control, I think they snapped and are hoping their stubborness, strong will, and a bit of luck might be able to prevent the worst case scenario from happening.
> 
> To be honest, the real question is what Tab's worst case scenario is right now (they hint at it. Losing any of the crew. Let's just say neither Adora or Glimmer have endeared themselves to the Captain and they couldn't give a crap if those two don't make it right now. Tab can be a little selfish).
> 
> All of this was bad enough, but the one two punch at the very end also has Tab struggling to maintain composure (and why they're almost in tears at the end of the chapter):
> 
> One of the known enemies of the -- let's call them 'The Resistance' -- the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull has shown up on the battlefield, and Adam is going to need time to get there. Time they may not have if things keep spiralling from bad to worse.
> 
> If Tab struck you as the sort of determined soldier type who doesn't pray to anything, take the fact that Tab ends this chapter asking Adam to pray to the Goddess Lynx (the Pantheran patron God) to be a very bad sign -- both for how Tab sees the situation ending and their current mental state on the matter.
> 
> Next Chapter:
> 
> What a mistake that was, to ruin the life of someone so young to save a King who was still so far out of reach. It was her mistake to clean up. This was her burden to bear, and perhaps making Kittrina Queen of Panthera could be the road to redemption on that. Let Princess De’Va be remembered as nothing more than a martyr, a young victim of tragic circumstances bigger and stronger than she could ever be.
> 
> “You might not believe me,” the Sorceress raised a hand over her head and a glowing ball of energy surrounded it, “But I really am sorry, Princess De’Va.” Her voice was quiet and somber as she stared at the hateful Theran that once was such a bright, joyful child. “You’ve suffered in ways you never should have experienced. In ways neither I nor any of us Eternians should have ever subjected you to.” The Sorceress’ eyes burned with tears, her vision swimming. “I wish to release you from that agony. Rest in peace, sweet child.”


	17. “She nearly killed me and my family.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer's mistake catches up...
> 
> Bow finds himself going off course to help people trapped in the fires.  
> The Sorceress and Mal clash but without backup and in her current state odds don't look good for Mal  
> Adam remembers a time in his youth with Mal and muses on how grief can warp people  
> Catra, Adora and Glimmer finally reunite face to face but Adora finds herself uncomfortable with the changes she sees in Catra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates this weekend? WOW!
> 
> Truthfully I had an important anniversary so to speak, pop up in my personal life so I felt this was my way of celebrating with you folks over here.
> 
> That and I like ending on prime numbers before there has to be some time between chapters. It'll be a few days before this updates again.
> 
> Also a special note: a weird thing happened with chapter 16 and some of the dialog disappeared so if you read it before this update, then I would encourage you to go back to chapter 16 in case some of it didn't seem to make sense.

Bow’s legs burned as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. He rolled as he landed, popping up to his feet. As he got closer, he drew his bow, reached for an arrow, and notched. He closed one eye and searched. Beyond blue uniforms he saw it. A tall woman with light reddish-brown hair and piercing green eyes. She wore no uniform, but a strange garment of blue and gold, and she bore large wings. They reminded him of Angella. Bow pushed back the thought and drew back.

[“Don’t do it.”] It was the new voice. The Theran called Sir Tao. [“She’d kill you on the spot.”]  
“How do you know where I am?” Bow’s voice quaked.

“Look behind you.” A glowing circle appeared and before him was a Theran with multi coloured fur and a staff. He was scowling. “Mal, as she is, will be able to fend her off for a bit.”

“But~” Bow began. The Theran held up his hand.

“If the Sorceress is still acting as part of Randor’s faction, she’ll aim to capture, not kill.”

Bow pulled out his binoculars and looked at the erupting battle around them. “The fires! The Citizens!” Sir Tao looked taken aback and then nodded.

“The best thing we can do for their sake is get the hell out. So as soon as we’re in the position to grab her we should.”

“But we should do something now, shouldn’t we?” Bow scowled when Sir Tao looked away and coughed, flustered. He grit his teeth. “Entrapta, can you and Tom bring the Purrsia~”

[“You don’t command the Purrsia kid.”] Tom interrupted gruffly. [“That’s Tab’s right alone.”]  
“But people are getting hurt!”  
[“People always get hurt.”] Tom sighed in resignation. [“We can’t stop that.”]  
“This time though, we’re the cause! We have a responsibility in this!”

[“Ugh.”] Tom sounded annoyed. [“You remind me of my kittens.”]

Sir Tao chuckled lowly. “Oh? You’re Maine, right? You never told me you had kittens.”  
[“Not as many as you, Sire of the Queen.”] Tom sighed, [“not then and still not now.”]  
“Apologies. Illness? Accident? Still births?”  
[“Military.”] Tom sneered. [“Hilariously enough, by some twist of fate it was Tab’s company.”]  
Sir Tao made a pained hiss. “Now that is some Irony. You’re a Mage, right? First name Forest?” 

[“So you do remember me? What an honour, Master Magus Angora.”] There was some background noise then, some wind. [“Entrapta. Keep the flight pattern Tab said in the briefing. Sir Tao, I’m dropping in.”]

“Alright then. I hope your spell work is as fancy as your footwork!”  
[“I heard you’re injured. Don’t drop dead. I’d rather not have to deal with Mal after...”]

“Noted.” He grinned. Sir Tao looked to Bow and put a hand on his shoulders. “Get the innocents out of here, friend. Tom and I will be able to handle the soldiers for a while. It won’t be long, so move quickly.”

*

“Lady Sorceress! Permission to speak?” 

Green eyes turned to the soldier, and she nodded. The soldier saluted. She wrapped her wings around herself carefully. “Go ahead.”

“The building that was blown up? It has massive underground tunnels. We’re currently not sure where they all lead, but preliminary searches have turned up two things: Artifacts belonging to the Theran Royal Family and a few shards of Twilight Topaz.”

“The Blades of Maud.” The Sorceress hummed at that, then reached for the comm by her ear and sighing. “It would seem your information is correct.”

[“Always is.”] Gloated the voice of the young woman on the other side. The Sorceress frowned at that. [“Now do you believe me?”]

“I knew Carnivius was bad news from the start.” The Sorceress admitted, “It’s why I went back, but clearly Randor isn’t interested in listening to me anymore when he has someone indulging his grief and twisting it into a sickening thirst for revenge and control.”

[“Well, if you think the desire for revenge is that corrupting, surely you know Princess De’Va’s desires are no better? Grief warps people, Lady Sorceress. So do pacts with literal Demons.”]

“You’re trying to paint yourself as the most reasonable option?” The Sorceress chuckled at that, low, and soft. “Why pick a Sycophant content to manipulate and rule everyone in the shadows or a Bloodthirsty Demon who wants to see everything in ruins when I can get someone who will keep the bond between Eternia and Panthera strong?” It was a little too funny but it was an interesting proposition. “In other words, option A and B both suck. Time for option C, right?” This would change how the Universe would evolve without the horror of Horde Prime looming over all of them now. “I’ll bite, for now, Kittrina. Don’t make me regret it.”

[“Of course not. Just help me get rid of the obstacles.”]

Her gaze was taken from the conversation when she saw a plume of fire blast past. The Sorceress raised an eyebrow.

“Well, speak of the Demon and they show up themselves.”

Kittrina’s voice was cool and even. [“Be careful. The little ritual she did with the Unknown Theran seems to have cracked whatever seal she had on the Grimalkin.”]

“If she’s anything like she was as a child, I think I can handle her just fine, Kittrina.” A small smirk pulled at her lips. Foolhardy and stubborn, running right into danger. So childish and yet charmingly straightforward. “Enjoy the show, and try not to get too burned. I know you’re watching nearby.”

Laughter was all she got in response, so light and childlike. Innocent really. She missed that. Missed hearing Adam and Teela laugh that way. Missed hearing De’Va laugh so carelessly.

The Sorceress lifted her head when she heard her men shout in alarm. She spread her wings out wide and with a few mighty flaps she gained several feet in the air. She spotted them. Crouched over making them look more beast than person. Mismatched eyes glowing with a magenta light. They snarled and when a gun fired, they staggered backwards before they were swathed in flames and with a mighty roar sent them shooting past them with terrible speed, cutting through the crowd.

That was when Princess De’Va D’Riluth of Panthera looked up and spotted the Sorceress. She snarled, and the Sorceress pointed her staff at her. The wind picked up around them both and sliced into De’Va, carving deep into her skin. Surprisingly, despite her frenzied state, she spoke.

“The Sorceress of Castle Greyskull!” It was as playful as it was menacing. “It’s been so long.”

“Hello De’Va.” The Sorceress glared down at her, then frowned when a slice went for her left leg -- it cut only fabric, revealing metal underneath. “Or do you go by Grimalkin now? Just like the demon that possesses you.”

“It’s not a possession if it’s willing and mutually beneficial.” Mal brushed off.  
“It has been a while, hasn’t it? About eleven years if I remember correctly? You’ve changed.”

“Yes.” The wind stopped and the Theran inhaled with a hiss, Mal moved forward in a strange, stumbling gait. “My leg still hurts. Even after all these years.” Mal scratched a bloody gouge into her ear. “Shattered after one of your men took a sledgehammer to it. All the surgeries. All the infections. All the shards they could never find. All the pain. They had to cut it off.”

“My condolences for your loss.” The Sorceress began charging another spell.

“Don’t lie. I know you enjoyed my screams!” Came a rasp. “It was yours and my Uncle’s order, right? I remember you watching when it came time for my hand. One knuckle at a time, sound familiar?” That smile was disturbing. The look of a madwoman. The Sorceress hesitated. Mad because she had helped the circumstances that made it so. Because she had hoped earning Carnilian’s favour would get her close to King Randor again. 

What a mistake that was, to ruin the life of someone so young to save a King who was still so far out of reach. It was her mistake to clean up. This was her burden to bear, and perhaps making Kittrina Queen of Panthera could be the road to redemption on that. Let Princess De’Va be remembered as nothing more than a martyr, a young victim of tragic circumstances bigger and stronger than she could ever be.

“You might not believe me,” the Sorceress raised a hand over her head and a glowing ball of energy surrounded it, “But I really am sorry, Princess De’Va.” Her voice was quiet and somber as she stared at the hateful Theran that once was such a bright, joyful child. “You’ve suffered in ways you never should have experienced. In ways neither I nor any of us Eternians should have ever subjected you to.” The Sorceress’ eyes burned with tears, her vision swimming. “I wish to release you from that agony. Rest in peace, sweet child.” 

She whipped the bolt at her. Watching it hit her hard. Electricity was such a strange thing: muscles moved and stopped involuntarily. So the Sorceress watched. She watched the air leave her opponent’s lungs, watched them crumple like paper. Watched them twitch before there was an unnerving stillness.

There was enough force in that bolt to stop a heart. Hopefully, the Sorceress thought, hopefully this is all there had to be to it. Quick. Painless. An eternal sleep for a tormented young soul. Perhaps Princess De’Va would be lucky in her next life, knowing peace and not experiencing pain anywhere near to what she had known in this life.

The soldiers who were burned circled around the fallen Princess and the Sorceress floated just above the ground to take a better look at the body. There was still so much youth there. How old was this poor girl now? Twenty-eight? Not even half a life lived. It was pitiful. Sad.

“Don’t you dare pity me!”

That sounded like something she would say. Even as a child when Eternia subjugated Panthera to be their allies in the war against Horde Prime under the premise that when they had the Kingdom of Darkmoon they made even the Horde tremble -- Princess De’Va was proud and stubborn. The Sorceress sighed, using the butt end of her staff to turn Mal over to see her face.

A hand grabbed the staff. “If you think a pot shot like that got me, you can kiss my ass!”

“I was thinking that was a little too easy for how hardy you Therans are. Even for one known to be frail.” The Sorceress yanked her staff hard, freeing in, then swung quick and hard. There was a crack, and a grunt, but Mal had caught it before it could hit her head. “You’ve suffered a lot, Princess De’Va, and it breaks my heart. If you lay still, I can make this quick and painless.”

“Choke on my metal leg, bitch!” Mal tugged the staff and with surprising strength, pressed it hard into the ground. While still gripping it, she flipped back to her feet, using the staff to help her swing her legs, catching the Sorceress in the jaw. She was honestly impressed. 

“Don’t say I never gave you the option.” The Sorceress warned, staggering backwards to get her bearings and to view her opponent. Hands to either side, claws out, fangs bared, tails flicking, hackles raised, flames circled around her body like a cloak of heat and danger. “I always gave you a way out. You never chose it. You insisted on making this harder for yourself.”

The other’s laughter was chilling. “You’re really going to pretend you have the high ground?”  
“I don’t think someone who murdered her own Queen has any right to talk about morals.” 

“Hey Sorceress, here’s an idea…” Mal was breathless, the heel of her palm rubbed her sternum as she heaved for breath, “how about I rip those blasted wings of yours off your back one bone at a time?” That smile was chilling. “That’ll make us just about even, don’t you think?” 

She should have expected this. The Sorceress gripped her staff and stood firm. “Do your worst.”

\---

“What are you doing, Princess? Mother said the doctors just made you better. You should rest.” 

She was kneeling with a bizarre arrangement before her. Shavings of wood and carved blocks. Four in total. The workmanship from what he could see was very crude -- it wasn’t her strong point, but something was written into them. He glanced this way and that, but since she was now aware of his presence, she stood, blocking his view. The young Prince tried not to look too disappointed, but he could swear he smelled something faintly like perfume in the air as the older and taller Princess scowled at him.

“Nothing.” De’Va told him with a grumble. “It’s not something for little kids, Prince Adam.”  
“But you’re little too!” 

“I am not! Eleven’s way bigger than eight!” De’Va puffed up her cheeks and blew a stream of air in his general direction. “You’re still too little.”

“You’re just eleven! You’re not that much bigger! You’re not an adult!” Adam crossed his arms stubbornly, and he caught sight of ashes. His prodding forgotten, he became solemn. “That scent…” It dawned on him, “it’s funeral incense.”

“No it’s not!”  
“Father says funeral incense for Therans smells really musky, like that does.” Adam pointed out.

“Prince Adam, I…” De’Va frowned for a moment, but then forced herself to smile. “The Queen is taking it very hard. She even called me Kal…” Kal was one of De’Va’s older sisters, one of the few in the same litter. He remembered that, “She hasn’t left her room or eaten in days, or really spent time with me. I thought if I built a little shrine, maybe Mother would…” The reason why all of the Theran Royalty in Eternian custody suddenly became so sullen so withdrawn hit the young Prince hard.

“De’Va,” he asked softly as possible, “were the three Theran bodies we found your older brothers and sisters?”

“No it wasn’t!” She was a little too quick to say it. She shook her head. First slowly, then a little more violently as her lips quivered and face crumpled. Adam then realized the gravity of it. 

He cautiously reached for De’va’s hand just as the first tears began to roll down her cheeks and pulled her to him. Her arms wrapped awkwardly around her shoulders as she shook.

“Prince Adam?” Adam’s blue eyes opened and he found Teela’s green eyes staring back at him in worry. He uncrossed his arms and patted a green tiger at his feet. “We’re T-minus twenty.”

“Already and yet not soon enough.” Adam frowned, raising to his feet. “A lot can happen in just twenty minutes.”

Teela sighed. “Well, De’Va does have the luck of a Black Cat.”

“Someday luck might not be enough.” He straightened his clothes, then ran a hand through his hair. He made sure the Sword of Power was at his side, and nodded. “What’s it looking like on the ground?”

“A lot of Civilian casualties unfortunately.” Teela shook her head. “To think that my -- no, that woman -- wouldn’t even bother to get the people out of her way first.”

“When we lost Adora, the Sorceress saw our point about my father’s behaviour becoming increasingly concerning. When we lost my mother though, not even she could bear that.”

Teela frowned at that. “Grief changes people. That’s what De’Va said last time, huh?” She looked out to their battle field as it approached and turned to Adam. “How do you think it changed her?” She put her hands on her hips. “It’s always bugged me. Well old man, thoughts?”

Footsteps informed them the other member to their little hit team was approaching. He was taller and broader than Adam, sporting an eyepatch over his right eye, a scar both above and below. His hair white and dreaded, complementing his dark skin. “When we met her again eleven years ago, Your Highness, the young Princess was practically a different person. The look in her eyes when I met her again?” He shrugged. “I have one word for it. Haunting.”

“In some ways she was a different person, wasn’t she, Dekker?” Adam shook his head. 

Dekker chuckled. “I suppose no one goes through that much loss without coming out of it changed and a bit bitter.” He tilted his head, his smile widening. “Or maybe the rumours about her making a pact with a literal demon are true? I hear throwing around the name ‘Grimalkin’ isn’t something one should do lightly if they’re a Theran.”

“Neither should throwing around the name Greyskull if you’re an Eternian.” Adam eyed the old weapons master. “Dekker. Teela. Be honest. Are you sure you’re up for this? I’ll go it alone if you’re not.” Adam rested his hand on the sword. “He-Man and I will be enough.”

“I’d be lying if I said there was no love lost between the Sorceress of Greyskull and I, your Highness.” Dekker informed, “but when you assume the throne from King Randor -- be it by making him come to his senses or taking action, she will be on the wrong side of history. The least I can do for the woman is to clean up after her so that no one has to inherit her legacy.”

Adam nodded. “Thank you. And you Teela?” He turned to her.

“I was the one who suggested the Sorceress might hesitate if Dad and I took the field with you instead of one of the others. Carnelian rules the Therans by word only. We both know rumours of Princess De’va being alive and in hiding has kept the Chief from having all of Panthera overthrowing him.” Teela cracked her knuckles. “If we lose her here, we crush Panthera’s hope, and that’s a bad thing to do to people. We’d be fighting a war on two fronts then.”

Adam smiled at her. “Then it’s decided. Let’s get the Cymric Cooperative out of their little jam!”

*

They were several feet above the ground this time. As their bodies realized they had been displaced, gravity did the rest. Adora was quick to land on her feet but from the side of her eye she could see Glimmer stumble ending up in a heap. Glimmer groaned, and Adora drew her blade as they heard running towards them. Then the running went past. Glimmer looked to Adora. Adora looked right back, then shrugged.

They jogged to the mouth of the alley to take a peak. Glimmer gasped at the fires, then closed her eyes. Adora’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment before they both flinched backwards when they saw someone tossed through the air, hitting the ground hard, hissing as they rolled back on their feet. Adora froze.

Stripes. Mismatched eyes.

The person stood straighter. They were too tall. Hair too dark. Clothes too dark. Adora shrunk back into the alleyway. Glimmer watched her wordlessly.

“For a second I thought…”  
“That must be the one the others told us about.” Glimmer replied, sensing her thought. “Mal.”  
“Right.” Adora nodded. “Good to try more teleporting?”

“We’ll find Catra, get Bow and Entrapta. Wordak as well and we’ll leave. Then it’ll be over. We’ll just have to worry about how we’re going to get ourselves back home.”

A pause. Two. They looked at the buildings around them in a silent understanding. Watched as that woman who wasn’t Catra staggered forward with grit and determination.

“She’s Tab’s wife.” Adora murmured. “Tab this whole time has been worried sick.”  
“You heard Tab, Adora, we’re only getting in their way on this mission.”  
“Are you okay with that though, Glimmer? Just leaving them all like this?”  
“Well I’m not okay with staying. We’re here for Catra. The rest of them is, well, their business.”  
“That doesn’t bother you? They need our help.”

“And what happens if we lose you, or Bow or Catra helping them?” Glimmer stressed. “Let’s get Catra, and go. It's easier. Better.”

“Is it right, though?” Adora asked. Glimmer didn’t answer. She just looped her arm around Adora and the blonde felt everything shift away. For a moment she thought of their shared goal. Just Catra and only Catra. There was a problem with that though, one she didn’t want to admit to yet. One that had been lingering in the back of her mind.

They landed on a building high enough to get a better view of the chaos. The screaming civilians. The plumes of smoke. The fire. Adora’s hand shook as she peered over.

“Maybe we should stop this first.”

“It’s their problem, not ours.” Glimmer countered, “besides, didn Tab say we couldn’t fight the Sorceress and win? It’s too risky.”

“Glimmer, you can’t be serious!” Adora glared at her. Glimmer shrunk back.  
“Look,” Glimmer added very softly, “It’s not our responsibility. It’s theirs.”  
“It looks like a warzone here.” Adora muttered. “People are getting hurt.”

“Yes. Their people. We just finished a war, Adora. We don’t need to join a new one. We deserve to enjoy peace for a little while. You deserve to enjoy peace for a little while. We deserve it.”

“At what cost, Glimmer? Am I supposed to just close my eyes and cover my ears?”

“No, Adora. I know that’s not what you do but,” Glimmer was stumbling over her words now, flushing as she continued to speak, “if you save everyone, who saves you?” Her hand trembled when it reached for Adora’s. Adora smacked her hand away. “What happens when you can’t save yourself? What happens if the solution is a one way ticket and you get trapped and we can’t save…” Glimmer paused. Adora stared at her, gawking. “Maybe these people just need to save themselves and we -- you -- just need to leave them alone. That’s for the best.”

“For who?” Adora’s eyes were icy.

“The people who love you for more than just what you can do for them.” A pause. Glimmer tore her eyes away from Adora’s, grasping her arm to hold it at her side. “For me. Look, Adora~”

“Sparkles?” Came a husky voice. One they knew so well.

Glimmer spun around and felt her breath caught when a figure stepped from around the stairway access of the roof. Covered in soot and what seemed to be splashes of blood. She stood tall, ears perking up as she rubbed a smudge from her cheek. It was slow. First she was tense, then her tail straightened and curved, her mismatched eyes widened and her smile softened. Glimmer took two steps forward then froze.

“Catra!” Adora rushed past her and threw her arms around Catra first. Glimmer felt like an unwanted observer, watching Adora crush Catra into a tight hug. Catra laughed in gasped breaths as she patted Adora back. Glimmer sighed, looking at the two of them and sighing, a small smile pulling at her lips. She watched Adora mess with Catra’s hair and eventually tore her gaze away. Just as she did, she caught sight of Melog who stood over Tallstar’s broken mangled form and screamed.

Adora jumped, reaching out and calling for the sword of protection. She summoned it to her hand and pointed it in the direction of where Glimmer pointed.

“Woah! Wait!” Catra called. She saw Melog glow a bright, angry red and began hissing at them, and quickly put herself between Adora and Melog. “That’s Melog. She’s a friend. Right Melog?”

Melog’s red energy immediately dissipated and she meyowled in confusion, looking to Adora and then Glimmer. There was a moment and then Melog was nuzzling against Glimmer’s leg, then Catra’s. Glimmer flinched at the sensation, it startled her.

“What is that thing?” Glimmer asked.

“That “thing” is Melog.” Catra explained, “I don’t know how to explain her. She just showed up one day. According to Sir Tao and Mal, this is normal for some Therans.”

Glimmer frowned. “So they weren’t lying.”  
Catra blinked at her. “What? About what?”  
“You became a part of their crew. The Purrsia.”

Catra flushed. “Yeah, it’s kind of complicated. Tab decided to help me out. I got along well with most of them except Mal because she’s kind of an ass -- but not really -- it’s a long story.”

Glimmer nodded. “And her?”  
“She set the building on fire.” Catra threw Tallstar a dirty look.

“Under orders of course! I can’t be held completely responsible.” Tallstar grinned, pushing herself up. Adora swung her blade and it stopped at Tallstar’s throat. “Ooh, scary.”

“You almost got my friend killed.” Adora glared. “Start talking?”

“Are you sure that’s wise? Didn’t your friend with the pink hair over there just say you don’t want to get tangled in this mess. It’s shaping up to be a real civil war from what I can see.”

“See? It’s a Theran problem, not ours.” Glimmer shook her head. “Look, you and Catra grab my hand, we’ll teleport to Bow, then Entrapta and Wordak and then we’ll head home, okay?”

Catra stared at Adora who was finally letting go of her hand, then to Glimmer. “Glimmer, listen to me, I can't…” she trailed off, then gestured to Tallstar. “She nearly killed me and my family.”

*

“What a touching reunion.” Kittrina smiled when all she got was a wheeze. She looked down at the crumpled form by her feet before taking a pair of binoculars to spy across the gulf of smaller buildings. “What is Auntie going to do now that her precious new toy has her friends? The ones she cares more about than she ever could for an esoteric and cryptic witch?”

Another wheeze.

“Don’t worry. I have every intention of them finding you. If you’re really lucky they might even be able to stop you from dying.” Kittrina smirked at him. “You’re probably trying to keep yourself from going into shock right now, but what has your attention is that last dagger I stabbed you with, isn’t it?”

A bloodied cough.

“Well, if you leave that blade in, your chances of surviving will be much higher, move it though and you might cut your Aorta.” She laughed at that, taking a good look at her Theran pincushion who just wheezed in response “Let me take out the guesswork that your poor little brain has probably noticed. Yes. That dagger has a twin. Yes, you certainly have seen its twin before. Grimalkin is what you call her? She keeps the pair to the blade in your chest close at hand. A holster on her back just under her jacket.” Kittrina’s smile grew until it revealed sharp canines. Amusement and malice. “You never saw that blade up close before, have you? Well, let me tell you, that is the rune of the Royal Family on it, no doubt. Queen C’yra’s personal arms.”

A wheeze came, more like a hiss with air escaping from fluid. Kittrina sighed.

“The other daggers along your gut, sadly, aren’t as special. Just some standard Theran military issued blades. Nothing too vital was pierced. I do need you to play messenger after all, so don’t be foolish and move around the place too much and risk jarring them.”

Finally there were words. Stilted. Pained. “Y-You’re...Princess Kittrina?”

“In the flesh.” Kittrina’s eyes closed with pleasure, purring. She went back to staring through her binoculars. “Oh. Pity. Seems they have Tallstar still. Well a tool that gets captured is a useless one.” She heard it then, crackles from the Comm she took from the prone figure at her feet.

[What the hell do you mean Mog hasn’t checked in for over ten minutes?] Kittrina smirked. She knew that voice well. The Captain of Cymric Cooperative.

“Poor Ancle. Sounding so worried.” She chuckled. 

[None of us have been able to get a hold of him! I can keep trying!] That voice wasn't one she recognized though. A loud beep from the comm annoyed her but she ignored it. [Nothing.]

[Keep at it, Bow.] Tab ordered. [If the page is getting through, that means his device is intact. If that’s the case he’s probably in one piece. Get the coordinates to me. We’ll go to him.]

[We?] This Bow person echoed.  
[I’m with a friend.] That piqued Kittrina’s interest. Who could Tab have on such short notice?

[We have a visual on the Sorceress and Mal. It’s not looking good.] The one they called Tom, Kittrina noted to herself. She turned her binoculars and licked her lips when she saw the Sorceress slam Mal into the ground hard, watching all tension leave Mal’s muscles.

“What a delicious beatdown. Maybe Grimalkin isn’t unfettered yet?” Kittrina hummed. “Or maybe you don’t want to level the city? To think you still have such sentimentality at this point.”

[I know. I’m swooping in now.] Tab declared on the comm.  
[Gotta plan, Cap?]  
[Hell no. Keep trying to get to Mog. I’ll figure out something once we got Mal.]

“Seems they’re getting rather worried for you Mog. Poor thing.” Kittrina hummed, walking to the edge of the tower and peering over, “if they aren’t quick enough the fires might reach here. Silly Auntie. Didn’t anyone tell her to be more careful? You might die here because of her, you know.”

“Wha-what’s with you fucking royals,” Mog managed to string together as he pushed himself to his knees. Kittrina hummed, her eye on his intended prize -- his handgun several feet away, “I hate you guys. Always bringing people like me into your personal shit for your vanity. Using us as fucking shields to save your own asses.”

“I’ll be your Queen very soon,” Kittrina stared down at him coldly, “and if I have to use your body and the body of others as kindling to keep most of us warm, you should be grateful to serve Our beautiful Motherland, Panthera so honourably.” Mog hissed and just as he was about to reach for the gun, Kittrina kicked it hard and over the edge of the building. She watched hope give way to pure rage and smiled. “It’s nothing personal.” She revealed a reddish brown gem in her hand. “I’ll be taking this as well, naturally. After all, the Twilight Topaz rightfully belongs to House D’Riluth, and when things are done I will be the only D’Riluth that remains and the only one who will sit on that throne. That makes this mine.”

“Screw you!”

“Try not to move around too much, friend. You might jostle those knives loose and bleed out.” Kittrina balanced on the edge of the roof. “And send Aunt De’va my regards.”

[I think I know how we can help out the best, Tab.] There was a lot of engine noise, but that voice, Kittrina knew it, and knew it well. [Get me as close to the ground as you can.]

That voice on the Comms sent a cold shock of ice through Kittrina’s veins. Her eyes widened. Her lips pressed together. So he was here. He came. Even sooner than expected.

“Well look at the time! Already?” She bit her thumb. “Damn it. I guess we’re done here then. We got what we needed and well,” She looked over to Mog. “it would seem the fun is over. She who fights and runs away gets to fight another day! Time to withdraw!” She jumped off the ledge, hearing him manage one pained scream at her retreat.

“Get back here!”

*

“You’ve gotten much stronger.” The Sorceress watched Mal’s limbs dangle as she held her up by the throat, listened to her gasp and struggle. “I’m impressed, Princess De’Va.” There was chaos behind her. Other Therans, she knew, but her men could handle them for now. There were only two of them after all. “But your stamina, as always, betrays you.”

It was a glint. Mal’s eyes narrowed. Her right arm curled into a fist and jutted forward as a blade popped out. The Sorceress couldn’t move in time and caught a heavy slice to the side of her jaw. Reddish brown strands floated to the sandy ground beneath their feet, cut free from her bangs. The intent was easy to see: if she hadn’t moved, her jugular would have been cut. 

Gritting her teeth, she hissed and dropped Mal, then proceeded to kick her. Once. Twice. Over and over. Her back. Her stomach. Her legs. Her back. Her head. Until she was sure Mal wasn’t going to move and merely lie in a crumpled heap.

“This has gone on long enough!” She dropped the staff, both her hands crackling with electricity. Just as she was about to throw one at Mal’s prone form, something hit her from behind. She spun around to find Dark fur and blue eyes. “Angora.”

“Hey! It’s been a while, Sorceress!” The Theran man grinned, “who’s daughter have you been stealing this time?”

“Too bad you’re already half dead!” She grunted throwing a bolt at him. She watched it launch him across the field and she looked to her soldiers. “Bring in the ships. The rest of you? Make sure he doesn’t get up again.”

“Ma’am. We have a problem.” Reported one of the soldiers. She rolled her eyes.  
“What?”

“The nearest two bases have been attacked. Few casualties are reported but all of the fighters are in no condition for battle.” She froze as it suddenly dawned on her. She had been too focused on wiping out one target that she failed to think of anyone else as a threat. That had been foolish. An amatuer mistake really.

“Who did it?” She asked evenly. The question didn’t need the soldier to answer. A shadow overhead told her everything. She glared when she saw the pink fighter blasting around them. She glowered, wings stretched. It was then she noticed someone on the edge of the wing. Long blonde hair. He jumped from the wing and landed hard, punching the ground. He looked up, strands of hair in his face but those blue eyes unmistakable. The Sorceress knew in that moment, when he stood up, lithe and small, but raised that silver sword over his head that this battle was going to be lost at the end of the day.

“By the Power of Greyskull!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The best way to end a chapter where you're making She-ra cross with MOTU: He-man's iconic incantation for his transformation!
> 
> For the reviewer who called it: yes. Mog was going to pay for Glimmer's mistake. That was planned from the get go. :)
> 
> See the problem is, everyone thinks they're dealing with just the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull. That was a mistake. Kittrina has been mostly in the shadows, pulling strings, but she's decided to finally tip her hand right now and show her rage. Or is it more appropriate to call it jealousy? Time will tell what's up with her.
> 
> Unfortunately, the precedent the BFS set up didn't end there. Mal's pretty down and out after that beatdown, and now Bow is rushing off to play hero as well. Doesn't anyone learn? ;)
> 
> And speaking of consequences...you're guessing right if you're thinking it: Mog was the only one who didn't know Mal = De'va. Keeping secrets in a small close knit group like that has a way of biting people in the ass later.


	18. "Someone who looks out for me as much as she has deserves to at least be heard out, don’t you think?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam tries to get the Sorceress to come around to their side again and fails. Tab decides that there's no more room for talking.  
> Adora finds herself feeling more and more out of her element, especially in regards to Catra. To top it off she meets her brother!  
> Glimmer sets herself in Tab's crosshairs when it seems like she has the chance to see her mother again.  
> Tab gets a little too focused on the ends and loses sight of the bigger picture.  
> Catra finds herself having to make some snap judgements, and not all of them are ones she's going to like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I jokingly personally call this chapter "the one where friendly fire becomes a pass time for half the cast because everyone's a hothead and no one bothers to double check before taking action" XD

Hey Adora,

I’m writing you! Surprise!

I don’t even know how to start something like this so I’ll start from the top. This wasn’t my idea, this was Mal’s. De’va. Mal. She says what people call her now doesn’t matter so much since she’ll be known as Queen De’va soon anyways. Though, if you could do me a favour for her, maybe just call her Mal? I think that’s what she really wants, but she can’t bring herself to say it.

She mentioned she could sense the tension between us and knows you’re an important person to me. Basically, her thought is, if I can get everything I’m feeling down on paper, maybe it will be much less jumbled and I’ll be able to say what I need to tell you.

Where do I start? These people are Therans. I’m a Theran too. Mal’s my family. She’s the Princess of Panthera (somehow. “Princess” is the last thing I could imagine her being, but Tom and Tab say it’s no joke) and I come from the Royal family. I guess that might mean I’m a Princess too, huh? Apparently, Mal is my Aunt. Huh, does this mean Tab is my Uncle/Aunt? Auncle? I should ask them what they prefer.

Who would have guessed that?

I’m trying to get Mal to be a little more forthcoming, but she’s still holding back something. I have reasons to believe it has something to do with this ‘demon’ everyone keeps mentioning about her. I know she’s still healing and she hates feeling weak so maybe the reason she doesn’t want to talk is a vulnerability thing? I know I’d hate to talk about upsetting things when I already felt like crap, and it seems most of our family is...well, gone.

Wish me luck,  
Catra

*

It echoed like a strike of thunder. Four words.

“I have the power!”

Eight feet tall. Built like a brick house. Adora couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the flash of magic. Saw him with a sword so hauntingly similar to her own. She frowned. Catra’s eyes widened and Adora could feel the agitation off of him.

“Who’s side is he on?” Catra grunted.  
“Ours? I mean, he is like me.” Adora protested.  
“If he’s an Eternian~”  
“I’m an Eternian.” Adora pointed out.  
“That could be bad news.”  
“Why?”  
“Mal said the Eternians are rushing to take over for Prime.”

Several emotions played out on Adora’s face. First surprise. Then worry. Then frustration, then a sort of odd acceptance, like she wasn’t that torn up. “How do you know you can trust Mal?”

Catra bit her lip. “Maybe I can’t,” she closed her eyes and she remembered. The guards who leered with her with perverse intent. A vague fuzzy memory of someone gingerly attending her injuries. That dreamlike Fright Zone where Mal willingly let herself get mauled and protected her from...something, “but someone who looks out for me as much as she has deserves to at least be heard out, don’t you think?”

That caught Glimmer’s attention. “What did she do? Save your life?”

“It’s a long story but,” Catra could hear something in her mind, a short, sweet tune, and she smiled, “yes. We don’t have time for this Sparkles. I meant it when I said I’m not going to just run off on them.” Catra’s eyes fell to Tallstar who had been glowering in silence all this time. “I’m pretty sure your boss isn’t coming. Better start talking.”

“You’ll have to beat it out of me first.” Tallstar spat.

“Who do you think you’re protecting anyways?” Catra frowned, then thought back carefully to her meeting with Tallstar, almost a night ago. Maybe even longer. The passage of time was hard to pinpoint and the beginning rays of dawn were telling her more had happened under a longer period of time than she thought. “Because as far as I can see it’s not yourself. It’s clear no one’s coming to help you.”

“I fly solo. A free agent for the right price.” Tallstar snorted. “So sorry, but I don’t talk about clients. I prefer not ruining my rep, or not being shot.”

“Where’s your little brother? You mentioned you had one, right?” Catra asked. Tallstar’s initial panic told her everything she wanted.

“I have no siblings.” Tallstar fibbed.

“You mentioned a brother when we met. How he walked a lot like Mal because of his own prosthetics, right? With the city in Chaos, he must be frightened. Maybe he’s dead, or worse?”

“Shut up!” Tallstar hissed. Bingo. This girl talked game but she crumpled easily. 

“We could help him you know. Maybe he’s trapped in the fire?” Tallstar was glaring daggers at Catra. Glimmer and Adora exchanged worried glances.

“Well it’s not like I can check myself thanks to your buddy with the bloody rifle.”

Catra weighed the response and then prodded. “He’s nowhere near the city is he? But he is in danger.” Tallstar growled. “Look. The Purrsia has a very talented Biomechanist on board named Mog. He could probably make you new legs. Mal is a very competent apothecary and she could probably help you with any pain you might have.” Catra tilted her head and with it, she twisted the metaphorical knife “or you can decide to stay silent and we can leave you here, unable to walk. Only able to drag yourself. Hoping the fires don’t get here before you can get somewhere safe.”

“Catra, that’s too far!” Adora admonished. Glimmer gasped, not sure what to make of this. Even this seemed like a line too far. Catra held her arm out, dissuading the others from moving closer.

“What am I supposed to say?” Tallstar covered her face and inhaled before she laughed. It was a pathetic laugh, that of a woman who saw herself picking between the lesser of two evils. “I think we both know my employer is the type of person who would get rid of me if I came crawling back. My siblings might actually be in more danger now that I screwed up.”

Catra stared at her, resolute. “Promise to tell us everything you know, and we’ll see what we can do.” Catra threw a glance over to the fight below. “But first, I think we have fires to put out.”

*

“Prince Adam.” The Sorceress bowed her head in deference out of habit, but mostly to stall for time. The Sorceress was rewarded: you may take the Prince out of Eternia but never Eternia from the Prince. For all the bluster and threat he could embody as He-Man, he was still the boy she watched grow up. He didn’t attack, merely stood there, ready to defend. “It has been too long.”

“I’m not saying we could trust you after you betrayed us.” He-Man declared, “But Sorceress, we don’t have to fight. I know you loved my mother dearly. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

“I don’t think I could ever get behind your idea of possibly killing our King.”

“It’s an absolute last resort.” He-Man stressed, “but one I shouldn’t shy away from as possibility. As Crown prince, it is my responsibility.”

“Are you sure about that?” The Sorceress gave him a wan smile and kicked her staff into her hand. “King Randor is just too important to Eternia, and your rule, as someone with as gentle a heart as yours shouldn’t begin with blood and violence.”

“If he can’t change his ways for the good of us all, then his time for leading Eternia is over. That’s all there is to it.” He-Man insisted. A low chuckle emanated from his opponent.

“Chief Carnivus corrupted him by inspiring a lust for vengeance. Just like Princess De’va has corrupted you with lust.” The Sorceress scowled, approaching the crumpled form of Mal. 

“I’m getting a little tired of these baseless rumours about the Theran Royalty.” He-Man scowled sternly. “De’va is a very good friend of mine, and I will implore that you respect her as you do me.” 

“I hear that not even marriage matters much for them.” The Sorceress goaded. He-Man knew, but his frustration grew as she spoke. “The Theran people are more beasts than men. That proclivity for violence, carnal desire and dominance, it’s twisted. If we get rid of their toxic influence then Eternia will~”

It was sudden, it was quick. The Sword of Power was at her neck.

“We don’t get to foist our faults onto scapegoats or we truly will be no better than Horde Prime. Is that what you want? For that to be the Eternian legacy? Do you want generations singing of how we destroyed anyone who wasn’t like us and refused to become like us.” That got the Sorceress to freeze to a standstill, and she stared at the blade.

“She’s using you.”  
“We have an understanding, as Prince and Princess of wounded peoples.” He corrected her.  
“She’s of her Uncle’s Blood.”  
“If Dekker and Teela have taught me anything, it’s that Blood doesn’t mean everything.”

“You can’t trust someone who would willingly make a magical pact with a Demon. Not to mention what happened to the kind and gentle Queen C’yra.” He-Man didn’t move his blade, and the Sorceress sighed, raising her hands. “Alright. I know when I’m beat, my Prince.”

He lowered his sword. In a heartbeat, she spread her wings and shot off into the air.

“Damn it!” He cursed.  
[Don’t worry about it. I see her.] Tab called over. [Get Mal and get out, Adam. I’ve got this.]

“Understood. Be safe.” He rushed over to Mal and froze, until he held a hand over her nose and mouth and sighed in relief. Slowly, he rolled her over and almost jumped when she shrieked with pain. Broken bones. At least a few ribs. Her gaze was hazy and he could see they were two different colours, the runes on her cheek and forehead. “It’s nice to see the real you for once.”

Mal stared at him with bleary, unfocused eyes. “Adam?” She called weakly.

“Yes, old friend.” He chuckled softly, but stilled when she winced in pain from how his laughter jostled her. He shushed her gently when she made a heartbreaking sound. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.” Her hand reached for him. He held it tightly. “Everything’s going to be okay, De’va, I promise.” Mal shook her head and he frowned. “What is it?”

“I can’t -- my legs they -- I,” her words were a jumble cut off by sobs, “can’t feel my legs again.”

*

Bow wished he had many things right now: gallons of water. Magic that could douse flames, and a clear idea about how to proceed next.

“Entrapta,” he had put her on finding Mog duty, “I know Tab said they’d take care of it, but I’m getting a bad feeling. Any updates on your end now that you’re moving over the city on the ship?”

[I did pick up his Comm, and according to the Ship’s AI he hasn’t moved in quite a while.]

That didn’t comfort Bow, if anything, it made him curious and worried. He kicked open another door as he proceeded, and he paused when he saw a young family who cowarded away from the door.

“Hey!” He held up both hands, “I’m not here to hurt you. There’s a lot going on. You need to leave before your house catches on fire.”

“But where will we go?” Asked the woman. Bow frowned.  
“I already sent several people out towards the river, it should be safe there.” The three hesitated looking at each other.

“But…” said the father, “everything we have is here. Our whole lives.”

“If the fire takes it, I know it would be bad, but if the fire doesn’t take you, rebuilding will always be possible…” Bow intoned. The adults looked at each other the way couples do when they can read the situation and each other and they nodded, heading towards him. He stepped aside to let them through, and the mother smiled at him.

“Thank you.”  
“Don’t mention it.” He smiled gently as he moved on to the next house, then paused when he saw a young girl in front of him.

She wasn’t much younger than him -- clearly in the end of her teens. From what he recently learned, she was a Theran as well. Her eyes were mismatched -- one gold, one blue. Her ears, tail and hair were black, and she clung to the edges of the street cautiously.

“Hey!” He called out. She didn’t seem to hear him in all the chaos. Bow could have sworn Therans had much better hearing though. Maybe she was in shock. “Hey!” He began jogging towards her, flagging her down. She froze, stepped back a few paces. Bow stopped running and began to approach her slowly. “Hey there. Are you okay?”

“I’m...uninjured.” She looked scared, her ears alert, her tail flicking with agitation.

“It’s not safe here.” Bow offered his hand, “let me get you out of here, okay?”  
“Do you know who’s fighting the Eternians?” The girl’s face pinched. “They seem like bad people.”

“I wouldn’t say bad.” Bow smiled encouragingly. “More like there’s a misunderstanding and people overreacted.” He saw her reach for his hand and when it hovered over his, he grabbed it, still smiling, “C’mon, let’s go.”

“Are you with those people?”

“I am. My friends have a friend who is very dear to them.” He admitted, “she got wrapped up in all of this unfortunately.”

“That friend, she’s like me, right?” The girl asked. Something cold ran down Bow’s spine.

“She is, actually,” Slowly, with his free hand he tried to not make it obvious that he was reaching for an arrow and instead scratching his shoulder. “what makes you ask that?”

It burned. Bow didn’t even see it, he only could react, jumping back, or rather, attempting to. The girl kept a tight grip on his wrist. He winced as he felt blood drip down his shirt to his exposed stomach and spotted the girl lick her lips at the sight of it, flicking blood off her hand. 

“Hard to fight against someone as an archer if you can’t get space, isn’t it?” She asked tauntingly before closing the miniscule gap Bow managed. He felt something tear into his stomach and he screamed. He felt his wrist was released but before he could get his bearings, a kick landed at his side, knocking him down. “You really are naive. Only a fool would stray so far from the group. Only idiots would leave a sniper by himself.” A heavy, boot covered foot landed on his spine, grinding him in the dirt with a heavy stomp.

“What do you want!?”

“I realized the way the Cymric Cooperative was operating today didn’t make any sense. Then I realized you and your buddies were the extenuating factor.” The Theran girl tilted her head. Bow screamed when he felt more weight put on his spine. “So you and your friends assumed you knew better than an ex-Major of the Theran Military? Talk about arrogant! The worst part is, Ancle Tabby was probably desperate enough to trust you idiots. Pity. Your loss though.”

“You know Captain Tabby?” Bow asked between pants. He felt a kick and his ribs give way. Something very audibly cracked and with it came a fury of pain. Bow screamed.

“Tell me, was playing Hero worth your death and that Theran boy’s? By Lynx you’re in over your head, Outsider!” The young girl sneered, kicking Bow again. “I may have lost this encounter, but I plan on leaving casualties.” She flashed her fangs. “Don’t worry. I’ll leave you alive just long enough for you to send a message.” She knelt down and grabbed him by the chin.

“Who are you?” Bow sputtered.

“Kittrina.” Kittrina grinned. “Which means absolutely nothing to you, Outsider. Do me a lemon favour? Tell Catra I said ‘hey cousin’ will you?” She smiled gently, her grip shifting so she held the side of his face in a seemingly gentle embrace. “Tell her this reign of terror stops with Mal’s death. If that takes her death to get there, that’s just a bonus for me.” Bow stared at her in horror. “I hope for your sake, Outsider, they find you before the fire does.”

Before Bow could say anything in response, Kittrina slammed his head into the ground, hard. Everything went black.

*

Glimmer sighed when they reached ground this time. Adora had Tallstar on her back and Catra was beside Melog. They saw him then. Tall. Indomitable. Holding a passed out Mal. Catra growled. The man who held Mal gently placed her on the ground, reaching for his sword, the one that looked so much like Adora’s. 

Viewing the gesture as a threat, Adora stepped out in front of them, passing Tallstar over to Glimmer who strained under the weight.

“Who are you?” Adora asked.

The warrior frowned. “That depends on who’s asking.” An explosion overhead caught their attention. Catra’s eyes widened when they saw a pink ship fly overhead, and Glimmer froze when she saw someone with wings fly ahead of it.

“Mom?” Glimmer asked. Then something snapped. She dropped Tallstar, her fist lit up and she shot a bolt after the Eternian warrior. He didn’t move or dodge it, instead slicing it in two so it went on either side of him. “Get away from my mother!”

“Glimmer! What the hell!” Catra screamed. 

“Your mother?” He frowned. “I didn’t know there was a sister.” He sounded astounded. “It doesn’t matter. If you’re with her, then I have a responsibility as He-Man to stop you too.”

Catra’s eyes widened. “Everyone, wait!”

“You’ll have to go through me first!” Adora pushed Catra back. “For the Honour of Greyskull!”

“Stop!” Catra shielded her eyes from the bright light as Adora transformed. He-Man frowned at the sight, guarding his own eyes until he came face to face with his equal.

“I’m going ahead. I’ll stop that plane!” Glimmer declared with a flash.  
He-Man looked at the quickly destabilizing situation and managed a small, cocksure smile.

“And who might you be?”  
“I am She-Ra.”

*

[I found him Tab.] Came Tom’s rich voice. Tab tried not to shake with rage when they heard the next words. [He’s not looking good. That’s an awful lot of rage to stab that many times.]

“How bad is it?”  
“Thirteen blades. One right by his heart. All left in. Moving him won’t be easy.”

“Get him back onboard and into the healin’ pod. Stat.” They gritted their teeth as they heard the alarm in Clawdeen-Nu blare at them. They were overclocked, they knew it. They could feel their head growing fuzzier at the overload, but this wasn’t over. Tab’s teal eyes narrowed on the sight as they fought through the increasing burning sensation. The Sorceress wasn’t going to get away. Not on their watch. Not this time.

[Dekker, Magus Angora and I got most of the people out. We saw a fight breaking out where Adam is though.]

“Head back to him, Teela. Mal’s down and out from the little I could see. Fightin’ while protectin’ someone is a hell of a lot harder than just scrappin’.” 

[You sure you don’t need any back up in the air?]

“What I need is to kill a little birdy.” Tab grunted. They got a lock on and fired immediately. The shots missed as the Sorceress dodged most of them. “Damn it. Almost got you!” Tab sped past the collapsing tower they hit instead, and heard Dekker’s warm laugh despite the situation.

[Glad to see the Menace of Major Manx is still a thing.]

“Randor’s side started this mess so send him the bill for collateral!” Tab gritted out. They were so close. So close to catching up, so close to being able to hit and make sure it wouldn’t miss.

Then in a flash of pink, everything changed.

There were new alarms now. Alarms that told them the wing had been hit and hard. One of the engines was rolling back. Tab screamed, slamming their fist into the console as they tried to restart the engine. For their trouble they only heard it cough and sputter. They looked around and found their target. Then froze when they saw a flash of pink light. It was one of the kids. Glimmer. She was teleporting from roof to roof attempting to catch up to the Sorceress. Red. That was all Tabby could see now. Red rage.

“TELL ME WHAT THE HELL DOES YOUR FRIEND THINKS SHE’S DOING!” Tab screamed. There was silence all around and then finally.

[Who’s...uh, friend?] It was Teela.

“Fucking. Glimmer.” Tab gritted. “Bow? Adora? Entrapta?” Tab straightened themselves from a tailspin and saw the Sorceress getting further and further away. “You have an explanation for this bullshit or are you like most fuckin’ Eternians?”

[Actually I...haven’t heard from Bow in a while, Captain Tabby.]

“Were you planning on stabbin’ us in the back from the start?” Tab hissed. They began clicking through controls. “For the first time in seven years I am this close to getting rid of the bitch who hurt her and the very people who say they’re here to help me are…” Tab just screamed in sheer frustration of it all. “I should turn back.” Their voice was shaking. 

[It’s probably best if you do, Tab.] Teela agreed. [We can reconvene after we get a better idea on the injured. Then we can plan our next move.]

“Teela,” Tab breathed harshly and almost put their fist through the console. “I want to comfort her after she wakes up screamin’, promise her the Sorceress can’t hurt her anymore, and know without a doubt it’s true.” Tab’s voice was soft, and eerily calm. “I would trade anythin’ for that.”

[Tab, you got us worried. What are you going to do?”] Teela’s voice sounded panicked.

“I’m gonna end this nightmare for Grima. Now.” Tab focused on that singular goal. Lips curled into a snarl she turned her attention to the onboard AI.

“Clawdeen. Remove all limiters on the Dummy Plug.” A warning came up and Tab immediately dismissed it with a button press. Pain shot through Tab’s left arm, the same side as the failing engine. They grit their teeth through it and clicked another setting. Nitro. The remaining engine kicked in, overclocked. It was dangerous, it was dumb but Tab was going to do this.

Glimmer was up ahead. Tab could see her, and for a brief moment the Theran froze. Glimmer Teleported to a building just ahead of them, finally gaining the Sorceress' attention. Tab saw the Sorceress stop, floating there for a moment, feet away from Glimmer. 

Tab could hear the word Glimmer had shouted. “Mother?” 

“Target them both.” Tab told the AI. “Fire!”

*

The clang of swords was what filled Catra’s ears. She watched He-Man and She-Ra match each other, blow for blow and couldn’t help but feel like this was pointless. The entire situation was pointless. Melog nuzzled against her, and Catra felt ill at ease when she came to Mal’s prone form. That feeling calmed when Claudine appeared, nuzzling against Catra. She smiled and scratched the lion’s chin, then the smile grew when Mal’s mismatched eyes -- an echo of her own, fluttered.

“You look terrible.” Catra greeted.  
“Feel it too.” Mal whispered. She struggled to turn to see the fight, then frowned. “How?”

“Adora and Glimmer are very good at leaping without looking.”  
“Aren’t you going to tell them?” Mal frowned.  
“That we’re all on the same side? Sure. Let them tire out first. I’d rather not get in between that.”

“Smart.” That earned a bubbling laugh from Mal, cut off by a cough. She looked...feeble, Catra decided, but she was lucid now, grounded in the present. She shifted, rubbing her left arm. Her sleeve was torn and Catra could see her clutching at a tattoo. It looked familiar to her.

“What’s wrong?”  
“Where’s...Tab?” Mal breathed.

Catra’s response was cut short when she heard Adora scream. She was launched and landed near them. Catra leapt to her feet as it happened, about to run forward when she was kicked from behind.

“Get away from Princess De’Va!” Yelled a Brunette. Catra looked at her in surprise.

“Well She-Ra,” He-Man was approaching now, certain proud of the defeat, “it seems you and I are equals in power, but I’m the better Swordsman.” He lifted his sword high. Catra forgot all sense of self preservation then, rushing to her.

“Adora!” She flung herself over her, eyes closed.

He-Man froze. The Brunette froze. Catra opened her eyes and Adora stared at her, then at the other two. There was silence for so long Catra wasn’t sure anyone was breathing until she heard Mal cough and then groan.

“Your name,” He-Man asked softly, “is Adora?”  
“What of it?” Adora spat back.  
“Who are you with?” He-Man asked.  
“Why does it matter to you?”  
“I’m not with the Sorceress.” He-Man was now putting it together. “You’re with Tab, right?”

The Brunette looked at the two blonds then to Mal. “Oh shit. He-Man, you mean we just~”  
“I’m afraid so.” He-Man informed her very quietly.

“We are with Tab,” Adora confirmed, “which is why we can’t let you take that Theran over there.”

He-Man face palmed. “We’re on the same side, believe it or not. Meaning you just sent that friend of yors after Tab. Teela, radio Tab and tell them there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding.”

“So that’s why Tab was pitching a fit.” Teela shook her head. “Hopefully Tab didn’t do anything rash. They got that tone in their voice. You know the one.”

“The voice of someone about to raise hell?” He-Man chuckled, then covered his face. “What a mess.” He-Man glowed and when the glow dissipated, a young, lithe, gentle looking young man was in his place, his long blond hair pulled from his face in a low ponytail showing off his blue eyes. Save the reddish beard on his face, he looked so much like Adora there was no denying there was some sort of family relation. Adora simply stared before getting to her feet and helping Catra up.

“You’re...just like me then. Really? Are you Eternian?” Adora asked.

“I am. My name is Adam. Crown Prince of Eternia.” He held out his hand. “If you truly are Adora and She-Ra -- I have reasons to believe I may be your brother.”

“My brother?” Adora gaped.

“Adam,” Teela interrupted, “I got no response. Tab may be out of range.”  
“Damn it.” Adam hissed. “Has anyone heard anything from the Captain? Put it on speaker.

[We’ve got another problem. Dekker and I found someone lying in the street. I know Mog’s been hurt, but were you all with an Archer before?] Catra recognized the voice. It was Sir Tao, and if there was an archer then it was most likely…

“Bow!” Adora called out. She reverted back to normal. “What happened to him? Is he okay?”

[He’s in rough shape. Guessing the same person who got Mog, considering he was alone too.]

“You guys split up?” Adam asked. Adora flinched as if he had made an accusation. Catra looked at them both with concern. “That was silly.”

“We just thought that Tabby was being overly cautious and~”

“You’re in over your heads.” That voice made them turn. Adam looked worried as he saw Mal struggling to push herself into a sitting position, leaning forward heavily to balance. “You should have listened to Tab.” Mal murmured, rubbing her shoulder.

Adora sighed. “Well…” Adora’s words of defence died on her lips, “we know that now.”

“De’va,” Adam called gently, “be careful. If it’s your spine again~” he stopped when Mal held up her hand, her eyes fluttering closed.

“Manx is in trouble.” Mal winced as she uttered those words, “Tell the old man to start heading there. I’ll be right beside him soon. No need to follow if you don’t want to. It can be a family affair. Hah!”

“But your injuries.” Adam watched Mal’s wobbling, unstable form with increasing worry “The Spinal implant is probably broken and needs to be stabilized or you could be permanently~”

“I didn’t live this long just to outlive Tab.” Mal chuckled at that, though it sounded almost like she was weeping. Mal closed her eyes and inhaled, concentrating. “I see. Claudine. Let him know.”

“See what?” Adam asked eagerly. He frowned when he saw a glow of magic around Mal. “Wait, wait wait! You’re only going to make things worse! Do you want to be paralyzed?”

“Get back to the Purrsia,” Mal pushed herself to her feet, though her legs looked like they couldn’t bear her weight well, “meet us by the river. Tab is going to ditch the Clawdeen-Nu there.” Her face was changing shape and she was wincing as it turned into more of a snout. “Try to see if you could get my ship back in less than three pieces while you’re at it, will you, Adam?”

Catra watched in shock. As arms shifted to paws -- the right was mutilated. Only the “thumb” and “index” were intact, and as the metal prosthetic fell away it was clear that the middle, ring and pinky all had less than the finger before it, with the pinky completely missing. Legs shifted, but stopped midway and Catra blinked.

“A perk if you can transform without a Twilight Topaz shard.” Mal smirked, mid transformation, the smile faltering into a grimace. “I’ll teach you later.” Mal’s twin tails flicked behind her. “Adam and Teela are good people. You can trust them.”

“What are you going to do?” Catra was by her side in an instant.

“Stop Tab from giving themself more nightmares.” Mal smiled at that. Catra grabbed her by the wrist. It felt cold, terrifyingly so. Mal looked at Catra and frowned. “What?”

“Don’t do it. You’re in rough shape.” Catra murmured. Mal paused, then her eyes began to tear up. She patted Catra on the head. She pouted and grabbed Mal’s wrist. Something strange happened. Catra saw flashes, brief, disorienting.

Glimmer slumped over and bleeding. Tab standing, staring at their hands in horror. Mal collapsed and alone, convulsing. A strange Theran smirking. The Sorceress and that Theran walking towards Tab and Glimmer.

Mal shook her arm free and Catra let go, confused at what just happened.

“You’re a good kid, Cafra.” Mal’s voice sounded distant again. “Your Mom would be proud.”

“Mal,” Catra glared at her as she began stumbling forward, grabbing her arm again, “You’re being an idiot.” Mal looked at her, confused. Confusion switched to pain when Catra wound back and hit her in the stomach hard. Mal doubled over, looking at her in shock before her legs gave out. “I’m sorry.” She murmured, watching her facial features morph back. “You know if you push yourself too much it’ll kill you.” Mal’s body returned to normal just as she went completely limp. “I can’t let you do that.”

Mal, despite her thin form, was surprisingly heavy. Catra strained to keep her up. Adora was beside her and scooped up the older Theran and gave Catra a shaky smile.

“Are you okay?”  
“I hope I didn’t hurt her too bad.” Catra murmured.

“It’s probably for the best.” Adam agreed. “Mal’s health has always been...frail. For a Theran anyways. That still means she’s a bit more robust than most Eternians, but she could never take the same amount of punishment other Therans could.” He clapped Catra on the shoulder, and nodded. “You did good. Our starship is close and has better medical facilities. Adora, you should go with Teela and bring Mal there.”

“What about you, Catra?”

“Adam.” Catra closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind and concentrate. “Go to the Purrsia and update everyone.” She felt it then. Her spine straightened. Her shoulders shifted back and down. She bent over as she felt her lims shifted to paws. Adora looked at her in awe. 

“I’m going after Tab.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all knew Bow was gonna get himself beaten up. The poor fool.
> 
> Kittrina, villian or simply another pawn in the game? Who knows, but she might have her own "Hey Adora" through the "Hey Cousin" thing.
> 
> Mal is really down and out. Don't expect to see her fighting for a while.
> 
> We also have the first (and definitely not the last) instance of Adora directly questioning Mal's trustworthiness because she's uncertain of (and later uncomfortable) the relationship Catra has with these new people.
> 
> And I know I might catch some flak for it, but I think He-Man and She-Ra would be complete equals in strength, but since Adam has always known his connection to Eternia and therefore whatever situation led to the creation of He-Man, he would have years of experience under his belt and beat She-Ran with technique. Not to mention that due to the time dilation between Despondos and the rest of the universe: Adam is Adora's twin, but he's technically now a few years older than her. This would eventually get called out somewhere (haven't found a natural spot for it) but I felt anyone following the implications of Catra's age (Magus Angora calls out that she should only be a couple of years younger than Mal. Instead she's most of a decade younger at 20/21 with Mal at 28/29 (they both have very late birthdays) -- the "I'm 25" schitk Mal did in a previous chapter was her staying undercover. I headcanon that Adora is most of a year to a year older than Catra, so that means Adam, who was never in Despondos is sitting at about 25 years old while Adora is about 22ish.)
> 
> And these next few chapters we'll be getting letters from Catra. It seemed only fair to kind of reverse what we led with, as it gives me an excuse to dig into Catradora from Catra's side in this. Especially as Adora decides to be a bull in a china shop for a good while. These letters are sounding a little disconnected from the story right now and that's on purpose. They'll start to line up again early in the 20 somethings, consider it a vague hint of where things are going in the chapters ahead for now.
> 
> On other news, if I finish the chapter I'm currently working on (I have a buffer) by the end of today, that will pretty much guarantee a weekend update :)
> 
> Next Chapter:
> 
> “That’s the problem, Adora.” Adam declared. “You’re so focused on finding one singular point of fault and trying to make yourself it. From what I can see?” He pointed out. “You, Tab and Glimmer all made poor choices in the heat of the moment from what you described. Just like the Messenger, General and King.” Adam sighed. “Cause and effect exists but there’s almost always someone else in that chain who made just as poor of a decision as the person before.” 
> 
> “So...we all screwed up.” Adora concluded. Adam grinned and nodded.
> 
> “The issue in a chain of events like this is that the next person’s mistakes compound on the ones that happened before theirs, making the situation exponentially worse.”


	19. “Sometimes there’s virtue in killing flies with canons.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer gets more than she bargains for when she crosses Tab one too many times.  
> Adora blames herself for her friends fate and Adam tries to help.   
> Tallstar finds herself face to face with a displeased Kittrina, only to be saved by Magus Angora  
> Catra finds Tab and Glimmer in the aftermath of something potentially unforgivable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the promised update for the weekend! Yay!
> 
> As always, likes and reviews are appreciated and great encouragement. :)

Hey Adora,

So...you’re probably still mad at Tab right?

There are dozens of reasons for that, I’m sure. Justifiable reasons. Good reasons. My question though -- and I’m sorry if I’m over stepping -- but is it just Tab you’re angry at?

I feel you’re angry at me for showing Tab a little bit of...understanding in all this. Angry at Mal for being rather cold about it all. Though, it’s Mal. Being a bit of a jerk to people she doesn’t know or like much is sort of her thing.

Glimmer put a lot of people at risk. 

Does that justify what Tab did? Probably not. But between Mog being hurt because he had no one covering his back and this Sorceress person whom the Blades of Maud have been fighting being in reach and losing her because of Glimmer, Tab wasn’t thinking straight.

I’m not saying Tab was right. Far from it. I’m saying there’s fault with both parties and villainizing someone for a terrible, emotional decision in the heat of the moment isn’t fair. I mean, if it’s justified to do that to Tab, it would be for me too, right?

Maybe it’s because Glimmer is our friend? Or you don’t like how violent they are? You said that you felt I had hit a level I never reached in the Horde, that ‘these people’ changed me. Maybe that’s true but we were on Etheria. A tiny planet. This is the Verse. The more I know Tab, Mal, Tom and Mog, the more I realize deep down they’re just like us.

They just had to be in this environment longer than we have, and it’s hostile and if you’re not hostile back sometimes, it’ll chew you up. It’s kind of hard to put a right and wrong to survival.

That’s something that I think I understand about them the best.

Please think about it,  
Catra

*

Glimmer’s vision blurred. Everything happened so quickly...

There was a strange sound, some sort of gunfire. Something had hit the building and sent her flying. She remembered hitting walls and concrete, the wind knocked from her lungs. Seeing that pink fighter jet, and throwing a blast at it in pure frustration.

She took out the left wing of the plane just as they came to a river. The pilot was skilled enough to ditch there, and Glimmer thought that was the end of that as she teleported again and looked for the person the plane had been in pursuit of. Two more teleportations left her exhausted as she landed on the building nearby/

“Mom! It’s me! Wait!” She called. “Mom!” Then she realized her mistake. Reddish brown hair greeted her. The woman turned around and Glimmer met green eyes. The woman looked at her, and then her small, not yet mature wings. Piecing it together, she smiled kindly.

“Ah. I can’t help you, young one. Sorry.”

Glimmer grit her teeth. “Do you know someone named Angella of Brightmoon?”

“Can’t say it rings a bell.” The Sorceress dismissed, dropping to the top of a building. Glimmer followed with a flash and the woman seemed honestly surprised by that. Strong arms looped around Glimmer when her legs gave out from her exhaustion. “Quite the magic you’ve got. It’s impressive.” The Sorceress watched her warily. “Why do you ask if I know an Angella? Is she your mother?” Glimmer nodded. “I take it she is where your wings come from?”

“It is.” Glimmer answered simply, kneeling on the ground. “What are you?”

“I am the Guardian of the Sword of Power, and the Sword of Protection.” The Sorceress admitted, “Or rather, I was. I am the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull.”

“She-Ra’s sword?” Glimmer gasped.

“Ah. So it was She-Ra I saw.” The Sorceress tilted her head to the sky. “I have seen someone with wings like mine recently, I will admit. She is currently in the custody of Chief Carnivus, but I do not know her name.” Glimmer’s eyes glowed.

“You have to take me to her!”

“You would desert your friends so readily?” The Sorceress seemed both intrigued and disapproving at that and Glimmer suddenly remembered herself.

“Why are you fighting the Therans?”

“I’m not fighting the Therans. I’m fighting specific Therans. There’s a difference.” The Sorceress insisted, stressing the distinction, “House D’Riluth has known ties to the Horde. Their leader, Chief Carnivus in my eyes is no better than Skeletor and has led our King astray. His niece, Princess De’Va, has done the same to our Prince, I’m quite afraid. Just with a gentler face.”

“So they’re bad people?” Glimmer asked.

“The Chief? Absolutely.” The Sorceress confirmed. “Princess De’va? I want to believe there’s some good in her still. As a child she was quite kind, you know. Now, however...”

“Then believe in her instead of makin’ up crock!” Glimmer’s eyes widened as a flurry of movement took everything over. The Sorceress crouched, ready to attack when a person popped over the edge of the building, spinning in the air before landing in a roll. The Sorceress summoned a glowing bolt to her hand and threw it, hitting the figure dead on.

They growled, and Glimmer could see teal eyes flashing from a bloody face.

“Countless patrols and a crash into the river? You’re hardier than I thought!” The Sorceress called. “True or false, she made that pact, didn’t she? With the Demon of Vengeance?” A roar was the answer she got. “Of course. You Therans have no sense when you get too angry~” Tab seemingly disappeared from sight, and the Sorceress looked around, confused. “What the~arrgh!” Tab appeared suddenly and slashed at her wing. She hissed in pain, eyes blinking closed just long enough to be tackled over the edge of the building.

Tab grabbed her by the front of her shirt.

“Yeah.” Tab breathed, “She did. Satisfied you got your lil scandal?” They admitted, baring their fangs. “But if y’had to choose between that or bein’ dead, what the hell would you pick?”

“What do you mean what I would pick?” The Sorceress flapped her wings, and Tab tried not to lose balance. “You were a fool giving me the highground.” With a few more flaps, pain blooming through her wing, but she achieved lift, even with the added weight. Tab yelped at the sudden height, letting go when the Sorceress brought down her staff against her head. “Good riddance.”

A flash of light. Glimmer was mid air, reaching for Tab, then she was back on top of the building with Tab. The Theran glared at the Queen.

“I had it under control.”  
“Sure you did.” Glimmer dismissed. Tab’s expression soured.  
“It wouldn’t have gotten out of control in the first place if you didn’t get in my way!”  
“Thank you.” Glimmer imitated Tab’s voice sarcastically. “That’s all you needed to say.”  
“Rot in hell, Queenie.” Tab pushed back to their feet and looked to the Sorceress.

“You really do have luck on your side.” The Sorceress was amused. “De’va’s influence?”

“How about we trade both your legs for the one y’took and the years of trauma you inflicted on my wife?” Tab proposed. “I think I could be okay with callin’ that even.” Tab snarled.

“Look, can’t we just talk?” Glimmer insisted. The Sorceress canted her head. With an injured wing, two against one, her odds were looking slim. She shrugged, landing back on the roof, sighing. “You said it’s specific Therans you’re against. Does it have to be Princess De’va?”

The Sorceress hummed, thinking it over as she slowly approached. “I don’t trust her influence over Adam. Plain and simple.”

“You don’t like that Adam thinks for himself now and that she played a role in that. Not listening to you or Randor anymore must really ruffle your feathers.” Tab added, salty.

“I want what’s best for Eternia.” The Sorceress insisted.  
“And that leaves no room for Panthera, does it?” Tab hissed.  
“Of course it does, if Panthera decides to become part of the new Eternian Alliance.”  
“Subjugation under a different name with better publicity.” Tab scrunched their nose. “How apt.” 

Glimmer was finding it hard to keep up. There was a massive amount of history she was missing to help her with the context but she did understand one thing: two people who wanted what was best for their respective people couldn’t possibly be bad, could they?

“What does the Eternian Alliance need for membership?” The Sorcerer beamed at Glimmer.

“Trade deals.” Her gaze landed on Glimmer, gentle. “Military cooperation. Diplomatic rights.”  
“Preferential treatment and deference to Eternia. Help them at expense to yourself.”   
“That is a grave misunderstanding of our terms.” The Sorcerer promised.

“Yet the very rumour that De’va was alive and would have a strong pro-Panthera stance if she took the throne from Carnivus frightens your people? I think that says everythin’ it needs to...”

“What you think doesn’t matter.” The Sorceress was a blur. She grabbed Glimmer by the wrist and pulled the young queen to her so that she had a firm grip. Glimmer yelped and stared at Tab. “Now, this is the part where I promise not to hurt the kid if you let me leave unharmed.”

Glimmer swallowed hard, looking at the cold fury on Tab’s face.

“You knew you lost.” Tab glowered. “After all, we Therans are hunters and a little bird like you is just another one of our prey.”

“Of course I did.” The Sorceress admitted softly. “I also knew the only way out of this was to play dirty. You always believed in your morals, Major.” 

“You’re takin’ a hostage and you want to talk about morals?” Tab snorted.  
“You always wanted to be worthy of the noble hearts of Princess Lybica and Prince Devon.”  
“And De’va.” Tab growled. “Don’t you dare act like she doesn’t count.”

“I’m sorry she lost her way.” The Sorceress’s eyes drifted to Glimmer. “And I’m sorry kid that I lost mine.”

“Sorry indeed.” Tab snickered. “I’m sorry you think I could give a damn about yet another Hume who doesn’t give a shit about understandin’ us Therans.” Before anything could make sense, Glimmer watched as if everything went in slow motion. Watched Tab reach for their right hip. Felt the Sorceress stiffen in realization as Tab took out the gun from their holster and aimed.

“You’re not serious...” The Sorceress looked at Tab astounded, “What would De’va think?”

A loud bang was the answer.

Glimmer’s vision blurred. Everything had happened so quickly…

*

Adora hated herself in this moment more than she had in months.

Bow was taken to the Purrsia first before being taken to Starship Eternia. The reasoning? More robust medical facilities with more capacity. She had begged Adam to take her here and now here she was, staring at Bow from the otherside of a pane of glass. She watched as dozens of people in white coats ampled about. He had been somewhere else before this a surgery she was told but now Bow was asleep, stable but not yet waking.

“Adora?” She turned around to find her near doppelganger staring back at her. “Believe me when I say he’s going to be okay. Him and Mog both.”

“Thank you.”  
“Actually, if you’d like,” Adam scratched the back of his neck, “Mog’s emergency surgery is over and he’s stabilized now. You can go visit him.”  
“Already?” Adora stared at him in awe. “Your medicine is amazing!”

“It’s Theran physiology that’s truly amazing.” The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Our medicine just helps them immensely.” Adam corrected. “Dekker and the others will make sure that Bow will be back up and fighting too. It’s a little slower for Hume’s but we’re pretty confident he’ll be fighting fit soon.” He promised, his blue eyes focused on the same sight she was: Bow’s unconscious form in a healing pod, his brow smooth as if he was just sleeping.

“What about Mal?” Adora asked softly. Adam looked a little more hesitant.

“Her vitals aren’t looking good.” Adam’s voice was low, quiet. “Unlike Mog and Bow, we’re having trouble stabilizing her.” He sighed, face pinched. “Unsurprising.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “She always had underlying issues and the injuries must have aggravated them.”

“The prosthetics?” Adora noted softly. Adam was silent for a long time before shaking his head.

“They play a part but they didn’t happen until she was a teenager.” He informed her. “Theran pregnancies usually result in two to four births at a time. They call them a litter. De’va is the runt -- meaning she was the least developed and smallest. But her Litter all had a genetic issue.” Adam’s admission was quiet in the space of the observation room. “For reasons not even she’s quite understood, their doctors were able to save her but not her littermates. The others died shortly after their third birthday, and she remained ill for years.” Adam sighed. “Being electrocuted by the Sorceress and waiting as long as she did probably did her no favours today.”

“If we hadn’t spent so much time fighting each other…” Adora murmured. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s not your fault.” Adam waved the concern away, “No one ever believes De’va is frail because they compare her strength to someone from a hume species. She’s still stronger and more robust than most Eternians -- but you need to compare apples to apples. It’s moments like these, where she doesn’t bounce back as quickly as most Therans would that it really shows.”

Adora nodded, her eyes going back to Bow. “If I had been more careful, taken the stealth more seriously, we wouldn’t have been surrounded and Glimmer wouldn’t have felt she needed to help us. If she didn’t do that…”

Adam chuckled. “For the want of a nail, a shoe was lost. For the want of a shoe a horse was lost. For the want of a horse the message was lost and for the want of a message a battle was lost. For the want of a battle, the war was lost -- all for the want of a nail.”

“Wait, what are you getting at?”

“There was this planet once. Horde Prime thought it too stubborn to control.” Adam looked to the ceiling. “Earth was...beautiful. That’s where that phrase comes from. A woman I met there taught it to me.” His sigh was heavy. Adora could feel his sadness as he admitted that. “If you see things as being cause and effect you’ll always see yourself or something as the nail, right?”

Adora looked away. “I guess so. I mean if I didn’t put myself in danger, Glimmer wouldn’t feel the need to intervene.”

“Didn’t you also tell me earlier that Tab told Glimmer they had it under control?”  
“Well, yes, but she didn’t believe Tab.”  
“And who’s fault is that?” Adam gently prodded.  
“But if I hadn’t acted stupid about this…”

Adam sighed. “Maybe the horseman was out on the road when the shoe was lost?” He questioned. “He could have gone back to town and switched horses, right? Or gotten the shoe replaced? Or found a new messenger or got himself a messenger hawk who might have brought the message to the field sooner. He didn’t make any of those choices.”

“So you’re saying all of this is Glimmer’s fault?” Adora’s eyes narrowed at that accusation.

“Maybe the General could have used his experience to read the battlefield better.” Adam added to the story, his voice just as gentle. “He could have changed tactics without waiting for the Imperial order. He could have taken charge, followed his instincts and won, couldn’t he?”

“So it’s Tab’s fault then?” Adora was trying to piece together.

“Maybe the King could have listened to his advisors more when that battle was lost.” Adam continued. “Focused his troops on key locations and used strategy over tactics and numbers.”

Adora’s head was spinning. “So who’s fault is it?”

“That’s the problem, Adora.” Adam declared. “You’re so focused on finding one singular point of fault and trying to make yourself it. From what I can see?” He pointed out. “You, Tab and Glimmer all made poor choices in the heat of the moment from what you described. Just like the Messenger, General and King.” Adam sighed. “Cause and effect exists but there’s almost always someone else in that chain who made just as poor of a decision as the person before.” 

“So...we all screwed up.” Adora concluded. Adam grinned and nodded.

“The issue in a chain of events like this is that the next person’s mistakes compound on the ones that happened before theirs, making the situation exponentially worse.” 

“I have one question then,” Adora asked softly, “who stops it? If it just gets worse the longer it happens, who stops the entire cycle.”

“That’s harder to say for sure.” Adam murmured thoughtfully. “Some would argue it should be the person with the most power. Others would make an argument that it ought to be the person with the most experience and understanding in the situation. Others still would say it’s the person whose actions resulted in the greatest amount of escalation since what they did made the consequences outweigh the situation far too quickly.” He rolled his shoulders and glanced at her. “Either way, someone has to stop it, or it just burns out, leaving ashes in its wake.”

“Gee, thanks.” She didn’t know whether to laugh or shoot him a glare. “Super helpful.”  
“Sorry! I just think you’re trying to wrap your head around it by simplifying it way too much.”  
Adora sighed. “How am I supposed to make sense of half of what you told me?”  
“Really, it should be treated case by case. One size fits all doesn’t work.” Adam defended.  
“Well, in this situation,” Adora was looking at him directly, “who do you think should?”

“You and Glimmer are way out of your element, and Tab knows this place like the back of their hand,” Adam offered, “On the other side, Mal is Tab’s spouse, and she was -- and still is in very real danger of dying. Tab not being at their peak at decision making, makes sense.”

“Going after an enemy doggedly doesn’t fix that issue.” Adora pointed out.  
“No, true, but neither does Glimmer attacking Tab. Or us standing back and letting it happen.”  
“I guess we kind of did, didn’t we?” Adora’s eyes found the ground very quickly.

“There was a lot of confusion and cross wires down there, and by time most were sorted, we had three critically wounded people. They took priority. That’s the chaos of battle sometimes.”

“Why did Tab fly off the handle like that anyways?”

“Hume, including Eternians, treat Therans terribly. We tend to demonize them because their culture is very different from ours, and for some, like Eternians, we see this as confirmation of their supposed savagery.” He put a hand to his hip. “Our people have put De’va, Tab’s wife~”

“You mean Mal?” Adora followed. He nodded.

“Through hell.” Adam finished. “Tab is two things. Fiercely proud of who and what they are and deeply protective of De’va.” He chuckled, rubbing his nose with his index finger. “Tab left the military and created the Cymric Cooperative purely for De’va, you know.”

“Really?”

Adam chuckled. “Okay, maybe not ‘purely’, but it sounds far more romantic that way, right? Tab’s a funny one to pin down.” He looked a little wistful. “I think De’va meant it when she said she lived as long as she had because of Tab.” He sighed in a way Adora could only describe as being rather dejectedly.

“You…” Adora looked at him carefully, “liked her once, didn’t you?”  
“I hope Catra gets to Glimmer and Tab before something bad happens.” Adam murmured.  
Adora chose not to press. “Me too.”

*

Her clothes were filthy and slowly being torn to nothing. Her arms and shoulders ached but despite that and the morning that made the sand burningly hot, she kept moving forward. The fire and smoke was slowly dissipating but she still felt this sense of dread, this overwhelming feeling that at any moment the other shoe would drop.

“Well,” that voice caught her attention. She stiffened. “Crawling around like the little snake you are, can’t say I expected anything else.” She looked up. Felt her mouth go dry when she saw the dark hair, the mismatched eyes. “Hello Tallstar. Or is it better to call you a grounded star now?” A black tail danced behind the Theran and she smirked.

“Kittrina. Still keeping up with the terrible jokes.” Tallstar hissed. Her head was pushed into the dirt by a heavy boot. She heard the chuckle, low, deep and raspy. “I did what you asked!”

“When?” Kittrina hissed. “I told you to set the place on fire and kill them. Both of them left the church in one piece. I consider that a complete failure.” Kittrina leaned more into her foot and Tallstar gasped in pain and got a mouthful of burning sand for her trouble.

“How was I supposed to expect they had magic that strong?”

“Sometimes there’s virtue in killing flies with canons.” Kittrina snorted. “You should have taken out the entire block.”

“But what about the innocent people?” Tallstar protested. “They have nothing to do with your stupid grudge or need to get even. Why should they be dragged into this?” Kittrina’s foot lifted, and then slammed down on Tallstar’s spine, sending her screaming.

“Do you think I care?” The Theran girl’s voice was very low and even. “About them, or you? When I give a job I expect it done by any means necessary. A few extra deaths means nothing if the enemy is gone in the end.” Kittrina sighed. “They should take pride that their blood allowed us to destroy evil for the sake of the new order Eternia is creating.”

“You’re twisted.” Tallstar spat. “So what? You gonna kill me too?”

“I can’t leave any loose ends, right?” Kittrina knelt down and grabbed Tallstar by the collar, lifting her off the ground so they were face to face. “It’s nothing personal. Just business.” Kittrina’s free hand reached behind her, taking out a blade. Tallstar squeezed her eyes shut whens she saw the flash of metal, but was surprised only to find the warmed, blunt edge trailing against her cheek almost lovingly. “Tallstar,” Kittrina looked so young and pure with how deeply she gazed into Tallstar’s eyes, and had it not been for the blade at the neck, Tallstar would have thought Kittrina was about to confess her affections. “I will remember you dearly for the contributions you have given for those of us who wish to bring the Verse to a new and prosperous order.”

“A new order for the Universe, carved by blood?”

Tallstar’s breath caught when she heard those words. She watched Kittrina’s expression flush with fear and embarrassment, saw her eyes dart to the source of a low keening growl. Tallstar followed her gaze and for her reward was created by a tiger slowly approaching them.

“Grandfather.” Kittrina didn’t budge an inch.

“Put the knife down, Kittrina. Is this what your mother would have wanted?” From behind Kittrina approached a Theran. He was near the shadows, but his bright blue eyes glowed from the dark.

Kittrina bowed her head. “You have some nerve talking to me about my mother.”  
“What would your Aunt De’Va and Ancle Tabby think?”

“Screw her!” Kittrina bellowed, making Tallstar’s ears ring, “I know YOU have been fighting! Everyday! You have been fighting for us and all Therans to be free from that so called Chief who stole Grandmother’s throne. You made the Blades of Maud afterall!” Kittrina’s voice was shaking, “but what the hell has she been doing? Playing cowboy with her little commoner pets? Having fun screwing her soldier toy? Enjoying life while Mother and I suffer? Suffering no consequences for killing Grandmother? She should get a chance to feel what it’s like to be us!”

A sigh was the response. Tallstar thought to herself how she wished she wasn’t part of the family drama.

“I guess you’re more like your Great Uncle than I thought.” Came the quiet comment. “It’s a pity. De’va wants so much better for you than jealousy and rage. Instead she’s become the object of both for you, isn’t she?” Air left Tallstar’s lungs when she was dropped like a stack of bricks. Kittrina leapt to her feet. She sprinted in the direction of the voice. 

The Tiger disappeared, then appeared in front of Kittrina. She dove and rolled to avoid it’s slashing claws then screamed when a Pink Lion appeared and grabbed onto her leg. Tallstar felt fear bead sweat along her temple. She began dragging herself backwards just as the older Theran stepped into the light, his striped face drawn and serious. He held a staff in his hand with a crescent moon and star at the top, and didn’t so much as flinch when teeth seemed to find flesh and Kittrina was screaming and flailing. The Tiger tackled her to the ground. 

The Blade flashed over and over again, disappearing as it met the Pink Lion, who suddenly disappeared. Those glowing blue eyes narrowed. Lips set into a hard line. Kittrina was pinned under the tiger and was laughing maniacally.

“Aww, is that all poor little Claudine has left? She’s not doing well is she? Maybe that bitch might finally die after all!” The atmosphere turned tense when the other Theran marched over to Kittrina. Her laughter suddenly choked off as she stared upwards. “Are you...going to kill me, Grandfather?” The man in question lifted his staff. “I guess I pushed you too far, huh?”

There was a long pause, then a grunt, the snap of something that sounded like bone, and a pained hiss from Kittrina. Tallstar watched the older Theran stamp on the knife he kicked out of Kittrina’s hand.

“King Paw,” he called to his familiar, “get off her.”  
“You know,” Kittrina’s voice was laced with pain, “I could just Shift right? Tear out your throat?”

“You looked just like her. Scared. Traumatized. Afraid of your own shadow, but even more of the light.” The man sighed. “Do something productive. Build yourself up again. Come with us.”

“And join a murderer?” Kittrina half choked on her rage. “I’ll never be a monster like her!”

“What’s happening to you is unfortunate, but no one else deserves your pain.” Magus Angora warned, backing up. Struggling to sit with one useful arm, Kittrina chuckled and shook her head.

“You’re letting me go.”  
“I’ll probably regret it. Stubbornness with bad decisions seems to run in the family.”  
Kittrina staggered to her feet. “You probably will.” She confirmed, limping away.

Tallstar released a breath she didn’t know she was holding, then held it again when she was approached by the towering figure of a Theran. He was lean, clearly a mage type who didn’t do a lot of heavy physical battle. She closed her eyes when he reached for her, and then gasped when her body left the ground. She looked at the man who held her in surprise.

“You’re wrapped up in all of this too, aren’t you?”  
Tallstar blinked at him. “Put me down.”  
“But you can’t walk right now.”  
“Well I’m not about to go wherever and have your friends torture me for information.”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Something crossed over the Theran’s face, dark and stormy. His jaw set, but his lips raised just slightly in a snarl, letting Tallstar see those canines anyways, a chilling reminder that in her current state he could do devastating damage.

“You have my word as a Magus that it won’t happen, and if need be I can get you the word of the future Queen of Panthera as well, if you don’t believe me.”

“What?”  
“I know we look like animals to people like you, but we aren’t barbarians. We have standards.”  
Tallstar felt her ears burn red hot at that. “I’m not saying your savage or amoral or~”  
“You thought about it.”  
“No!” She defended too quickly. “No I didn’t.”

The Magus Angora chuckled low at that. “Oh? Really? Well, then prove it. I invite you to our ship so we can take care of your wounds and maybe help you with your legs.” Tallstar bit the inside of her cheek, looking away and he blinked, confused. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Another Theran already offered me that. A girl. Catra.”  
“Well you’re in luck.” He grinned, the image both charming and disturbing. “I’m with her!”

*

Breath came in perfect rhythm with footfalls. There was the smell of blood and ash everywhere, making it hard to pick out anything specific, but as she gave herself to the form -- not completely, just enough to reach into those senses more -- she could smell the dampness that came with nearing the river. Jet fuel.

The sound of water came next, and that was when Catra knew she was nearby. She tried to concentrate then, on her form. On two legs and two arms.

With a sigh, she was happy when she felt everything click and shift back into place.

“I guess I really didn’t know if that’d work for sure.” Catra looked behind her and saw a panther running after her and then came skidding to a halt. “Pretty risky, huh girl?”

Melog mewled, then raised her head before making another sound. Catra frowned.

“Claudine’s...gone?” That worried her. “Like gone-gone or did Mal call on her?” She listened closely to Melog and felt her heart sinking. “I need to get Tab to stop this so we can do whatever we can to help Mal.”

Just as she was set in that plan of action, she heard it. A loud, echoing boom. Sharp and particular. She’d only heard that sound three times before. That loud, echoing crack. Gunfire. Her mind was immediately brought back to the day before where Mal shot the Eternian patrol officers. Catra’s jaw locked as her hair stood on end. Her eyes raised to the top of the roof where she heard it emanating.

“We need to get there now, girl!” She took off in a full on sprint, down to a narrow alleyway. She leapt from wall to wall to a roof. She looked about and saw it, a few buildings over. Tab stood over the Sorceress, pointing a gun at her head. Glimmer was on the ground.

Fear. Rage. Terror. Worry. All of them fueled her legs as she ran full tilt for the rooftop. As she got closer, her sensitive hearing could pick up sounds. Words.

Glimmer choking in pain. The Sorceress chuckling in disbelief. Tab’s low growl.

“You missed.” A laugh. “A sureshot like you, and you missed.” The Sorceress murmured, gasping for breath as she spoke and then coughed, slumping to the floor.

“This next one won’t. Promise.” Tab stated in a cool voice.

“Why miss the first one…?” The Sorceress shook her head, “you were aiming somewhere fatal before you pulled the trigger. You changed things last second. Could have been one and done.”

“Shut up!”

“She’s young. It’s always a pity to see someone young cut down senselessly, isn’t it?” The Sorceress sighed. “Kind of reminds me of all those damn mind controlled children Horde Prime would throw at us. I remember many platoons were given the order to shoot to kill anyways.”

“Be quiet.” Tab was shaking with that.  
“You know, if she’s in shock, there isn’t much time for her. Should you be wasting it on me?”  
“Just. Fuckin’. Die.” A click. “Just. Die.” Tab’s voice shook. 

Catra landed just as Tab lined up the shot with the Sorceress’ head. This close she could see Glimmer in a pool of blood. The Sorceress was slumped on the ground, her head hung as if she was too tired to lift it, a hand pressed to the right side of her chest. Catra felt like her entire vision had narrowed then. To Tab’s shaking hand. To the Sorceress who clutched her staff for some semblance of support, to Glimmer who seemed to be almost convulsing.

“Do it, Major Manx.” The Sorceress commanded. “Or are you into pointless killing now?”

The sound that came from Tab could only be described as a roar. Catra didn’t know what compelled her but just as Tab’s hand had steadied, she tackled them. The gun went off. The Sorceress grunted, reaching for her shoulder. Tab let themselves hit the ground hard with no resistance. Catra’s fist flew, once, twice, three times. She kicked the gun away from Tab’s hand, and stood up, paying the captain no mind as they stayed curled up on the ground.

Just as she ran over to Glimmer, a shadow caught her eye. There, on the edge of the building by the Sorceress. Catra pulled Glimmer into her arms and watched her cough red, bloody mouthfuls. Her eyes were unfocused.

“Catra?” Came a croak.  
“Hey Sparkles.”  
“You...came to save me?”  
“Something like that.” Catra assured. Glimmer smiled at that before her eyes fluttered close.

“So you’re Catra?” Catra’s head whipped up to meet another Theran. One with odd eyes just like hers. She looked roughed up and exhausted as she gingerly picked up the Sorceress and then her staff. “Nice to put a face to the name.”

“Who the hell are you exactly?” Catra snarled. The other Theran -- she was younger, Catra realized, held up her hand, shaking her head.

“I know when we’re beat. There’s no point in fighting anymore. I’m just here to collect my partner and bugger off. Nothing else.” A pause as she carefully moved the Sorceress so she was in a fireman carry. “It’s Kittrina.” There was a shuffle. Catra almost bit her tongue when Tab was standing again, gun in hand, but this time it was aimed at Kittrina.

“They’re injured and retreating, Tab. Don’t do it. It’s not right.”

“They’re only gonna come back.” Tab’s voice sounded on the verge of breaking, “They’re only gonna come back and hurt everyone. If I stop it here -- if I stop you now!”

“Like you did with Glimmer?” Catra hissed. “Did she need to be stopped?”  
Tab growled, their grip tightening. “You don’t understand!”  
“I think I understand quite well! You almost killed my friend!”

“Well look at that! On the same side and yet arguing like Pantherans and Lupines! Pity!” Kittrina smiled all too smug but that smile disappeared when a crack of gunfire went off. Catra spun her gaze to Kittrina to find the girl covering her ear in shock. Blood ran through her fingers and she stared at Tab with wide, terrified eyes. “Auncle...Tabby?” She asked in a quiet voice.

Tab pulled back the hammer and leveled the gun, gasping for breath. “That was a warnin’.”

“But why?” Kittrina asked. Tab growled again. Catra was ready to leap to action but she realized Glimmer in her arms it would be impossible. She felt a chill in her spine. She looked down to Glimmer, who’s hazy gaze met hers, tired and pained.

“No one else.” She whispered to Catra.

Pink light surrounded them both and before she knew it, they were beside Tab, and this time Catra grabbed the Captain by the long braid, shoving them over completely and pinning them to the ground. Kittrina looked at the entire scene in shock.

“What the hell are you doing!? Go! Now!” Catra screamed. Kittrina seemed to snap out of her trance, shifting the Sorceress on her shoulders before catching Catra’s eyes.

“I won’t forget this. Cousin Catra.” With that she leapt from the rooftop leaving just the three of them. Catra’s worry turned back to Glimmer who had now seemed to be passed out.

“Glimmer! Glimmer!” Catra called, but blanched when there was no answer, “what were you thinking! Over exerting yourself like that? Are you stupid! Don’t die on me damn it!”

“Put pressure on the wound.” Tab’s voice floated over to her from a few feet away. She spared a glance to find Tab lying on the rooftop, an arm thrown across their face, the occasional sniffle.

“The least you can do is help me.” Catra hissed. “You have some nerve to be crying right now!”  
“You don’t understand -- that kitten is--” Tab fumbled the words, “What would Mal think?”  
“That you’re acting really pathetic right now.” Catra growled, “Get over here and help, Tab!”  
“What if I did it? Then I’d be responsible for taking one of her few remaining family away...”  
“Tab, we don’t have time for this!”

“When,” Tab’s voice warbled, “did I become the sort of person,” they stifled a hiccup, “that would reach for a goal no matter the means necessary?”

Catra grit her teeth as she pressed a hand against the dark hole in the center of the bleeding mess that was Glimmer’s chest. “I don’t have that answer for you.”

“How...can I even look at her after this?” Tab whispered, sniffling, and gasping. “What would she think? What would she say?” Then Tab did the most sensible thing in Catra’s mind. “Paging Pursia. This is Manx. I’m sending you our coordinates. We need medical care. ASAP.” Then Tab moved, slowly. They put the gun in their holster and crawled over to Catra. 

She didn’t know what made her want to twist the knife, but Catra had to ask. “Was it worth it?”

Tab’s hands shook as they heard that. They said nothing for a long time, merely reaching for Glimmer’s wrist and pressing two of their fingers very gently against it. Then they reached and did the same for her neck. Then held their hand above her nose and mouth.

Catra growled at them. “Well! Answer me?”

“If she stops breathin’, we’re going to have to do chest compressions.” Tab stood on shaky legs, heading to the edge of the building. “There’s a First Aid Kit in Clawdeen-Nu. It shouldn’t be completely submerged. I’ll go grab that and get back here as quickly as possible.”

“What the hell was that Tab!?” Catra couldn’t help but let her own rage spill out as she watched Tab teeter on the edge of the building. “Why the hell did you shoot her? Or that kid?”

“Because they were in my way.” Tab lifted their head to the sky, sighing. “There. Does it help if I say it out loud to you? Admit I made the decision in a moment of fury, just like a wild beast?”

“You’re pathetic.” Catra growled back. “Tell me, was it worth it?” she echoed.

“You can reason killin’ a clone.” Tab admitted. “Or enemies. ‘Kill them before they kill you’ is what you tell yourself.” Tab sighed. “But someone who just got swept into the mess by no fault of their own? Stupid decisions made or not, that’s a line, isn’t it?” Tab glanced backwards, their blue eyes wide and glassy. “Is anythin’ worth becomin’ a bit more like someone you hate?”

Before Catra could offer anything in response, Tab had disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel Bow and Glimmer have learned their lessons and are going to be much more grounded now.
> 
> Unfortunately for them, Adora's gonna find out about the whole Tab shooting Glimmer thing, and RIGHT after her talk with Adam. Big yikes, Adam. You might have done your job a little too well in assuaging her guilt but Adora likes clear go-no go sort of answers. Leaving her to her own devices on something like that may not have been wise. Especially when the injured party is one of her Best Friends. Her view on it is going to be heavily biased.
> 
> Next Chapter:
> 
> “I’ve been busy with Bow and Glimmer, keeping vigil, talking to Adam.” Adora’s tone was meant to be light, but instead it was sharper than intended. “You know, friend stuff. How about you?”
> 
> Catra flinched at that. “I’ve been helping restock with the supplies Prince Adam gave the Purrsia.” She exhaled shakily. Glimmer looked back and forth between the two of them, panic blooming on her face. “Mog can’t help yet, and neither can Mal, so it’s been just me and Tom.”
> 
> “What about Tab?” Adora murmured hotly. Catra’s sharp ears caught it.
> 
> “Tab’s,” Catra was stumbling over her words, trying to pick them carefully, “been busy lately.”  
> “Figuring out who among our friends should be shot next?”


	20. "A demon to some could be a goddess to others.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra finds herself being someone else's rock for once.  
> Adora is furious with Tab, and even more frustrated that she doesn't understand Catra's attachment to the Therans.  
> Bow and Adam lift, flirt and talk about the messiness that is being Royalty and the ones who love them  
> A dream in the Fright Zone gives Catra a rare an unexpected opportunity to meet her Mother  
> Tallstar finds herself unsettled with the views Eternians like Man-At-Arms and Fisto seem to hold of Therans  
> Angella has a not at all pleasant conversation with one Chief Carnivus D'Riluth of Panthera  
> Mal finally awakens.
> 
> TW: For the Chief Carnivus part, he does make a suggestion that runs into Dub/Non-con elements.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as a general FYI: I made some minor edits in previous chapters. Most notably the stuff around "Nun".
> 
> I took the emerging theme of identity vs role that is going on with Mal/De'va in a bit of a different direction than earlier intended. That being, for the sake of ease I axed the whole Nun is Mal is De'va thing, and just made it clear from the getgo that Adam, Teela and Kittrina in that vision met with Mal/De'va. It was too complicated to make it a triple identity thing so I just dropped the third identity altogether.
> 
> Instead, what we're left with is this whole...discourse. And you're going to notice Mal gets called De'va a lot on and off in dialog and even (depending on what role is more relevant to her) in the prose for the foreseeable future. There will be a couple of times where it's clear we're not dealing with "Mal" anymore and it made more sense not to call her "Mal" in those moments. What I find most interesting though? Who decides they will call her Mal and who decides they will call her De'va.
> 
> I think, especially after something Mal says in this chapter, something Bow says about Glimmer and Adora's relationship in this one and what Glimmer tells Mal in a later chapter, that you can read a lot into who uses which name, why, and under what circumstances and what that says about them and their relationship to Mal/De'va.

Hey Adora,

How is it...adjusting to meeting a family member? I feel we’re in the same boat on that. Magus Angora is my grandfather and Mal? She confirmed she’s my Aunt. Though honestly she’s so close in age to us that it doesn’t quite fit her to call her “Aunt De’va”. Mal also admitted she rather I didn’t, though I’m not quite sure if that is her being self conscious that she’s almost thirty or because it reminds her of one of my probably late cousins. She kind of got sad when I did it.

I guess Mal should just be Mal. Some things don’t need labels, do they?

Not all things though. You haven’t left Glimmer’s side I noticed. All this excitement and effort to find me and she’s the one you have all your attention on. I’m not jealous, I don’t think. I get that you’re angry at the crew, but just like you thought Scorpia and I weren’t bad people, they aren’t. Trust me on this, just please?

Who am I kidding? If there’s one thing I know about you it’s that if you can’t blame yourself for getting your friends hurt, you’ll blame the one who hurt them. You don’t hold grudges, sure, but people who aren’t apologetic never rubbed you the right way and, well, I can’t imagine Tab saying sorry anytime soon. Even Mal’s having issues with that.

Take care,  
Catra

*

Catra had gotten used to a new routine in the last couple of weeks. She’d rise about three minutes before her alarm and stretch, urging Melog off of her legs. She would open the hatch to her bunk and check to see if anyone was there. Quietly as she could, she would sneak off to the kitchen. Lately, she would find small amounts of food left there and quickly realized it was purposeful. Today was freshly baked bread and a small selection of fruit. With it as always: a short but to the point note.

_‘You’re still a growing kitten. Don’t forget to eat. Lunch will be ready when you get back - T’_

“Thanks Tom.” She whispered, seeing no sign of the older man’s physical presence in the kitchen today as she took several rolls with her and a few apples. Next she would tip toe into the bridge, and she would tell the AI -- Silver Storm -- to stay quiet. She would take a survey to tell her what she needed to know.

Empty instant food containers. A distinct smell of strong booze. A softly snoring but shivering Tab in the pilot’s chair -- usually against Tab’s strict, ironclad rules but it’s not like they were really flying right now. As quietly as possible, Catra would frown and switch the torn up leather jacket Tab had draped over themselves for a blanket, folding it aside and wondering if she would find this jacket in Mal’s room, over her in a few days. It wasn’t the first time it happened and Catra was beginning to believe it wasn’t a coincidence, but rather very purposeful. Then, in the co-pilot’s chair, she’d leave two of the rolls she took from the kitchen table and an apple.

As quietly as she could, she would head towards the loading dock. Sometimes, she would hear a murmur and she would frown, quietly tiptoeing around a curled up, sleeping Mog on the floor. Down the catwalk, to the gangplank. Melog at her heels as always. The cargo doors would open and she would find herself stepping into a different world. One where the browns of Purrsia were replaced with white and silver and blue. The distinct smell that could only be considered Therans living in close quarters was replaced with Hume, who had a range of smells. Some of them are not great. Others doctored with far too strong chemicals -- colognes of sorts.

Starship Eternia would let her out of the hangar, and then she would make a beeline for their medical wing. The scheduled nature of her visits had become natural to them, so they knew to expect her and usually asked if everything was okay if she was ever late.

A brunette with green eyes met her. Teela. She smiled, a simple but welcoming gesture.

“Morning Miss Catra.”  
Catra chuckled at the formality. “Catra is fine. How is everyone Teela?”

Teela brought up a tablet in front of her, “Glimmer has been awake more and more lately! De’va has stirred but still nothing. We’re hoping she finally will wake up this week.” She flicked her finger on the screen and paused to read. “Bow has been walking around now making rounds on the ship and is getting stronger each day, which of course has us relieved. His ribs are looking good too! Mog is back on your ship as you know -- we didn’t want that just yet but he was in quite a foul mood when we tried to argue, so Adam said to let it be.”

“You’ve been sending a medic over everyday, right?”

Teela nodded. “A compromise made between Tom and Adam for Mog’s well being. Tabby hasn’t been communicating with us,” the way Teela looked up at her implied she wanted any insight Catra may have “How are they?”

“Passed out drunk.” Catra answered flatly. “Again.”

Teela sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. “They’re still not visiting De’va. Only asking if I could put her jacket in her room with her and then asking for it back every few days.” Well that answered Catra’s internal question on that matter. Teela filled her cheeks with air and then released it. “I’m not some damn courrier. They’re lucky I like De’va. She may be a perpetual pain in my ass, but if I didn’t do it, Adam would have taken it upon himself instead. That wouldn’t sit well with Tab and I’d rather we don’t poke that bear.”

That got Catra to blink. “Wait, why does Tab have Mal’s jacket again?”  
Teela froze. She chuckled. Just a little giggle then a laugh. “You’re Theran, aren’t you?”

“Oh great, this again, where everyone points out that I don’t know my own culture.” Catra scowled. “Yes. I’m Theran. I just found out like two months ago. What’s your point?”

“Huh. A Theran who didn’t grow up around other Therans and an Eternian who didn’t grow up with other Eternians. Both of them ended up being long lost Royalty. Who would have guessed?” She meant Adora. Catra just knew. She glowered at her, hoping Teela would take the hint to get to the point. “Adam explained it once.” Teela seguwayed back onto topic. “It’s a partner thing, supposedly, amongst Therans.”

Her face burned at that. “A Partner thing?” Catra echoed. “Like romantic partners?”

“It’s the only reason I agreed.” Teela informed. “Theran partners often exchange clothes they have worn on a regular basis so they have their partner’s scent near them. It’s apparently very grounding.” Teela shrugged. “I guess it’s the same thing as what some planet cultures signify their marriage to their partner by exchanging clothes. The difference is the original owner still wears the clothing regularly so it can smell like them when they give it to their spouse.”

Catra coughed awkwardly. “We have something like that in Etheria. We just give the clothes.”

“Excellent, so you understand somewhat then? It’s the same idea just taken to it’s next logical step given the people -- they say Therans identify things by smell long before they open their eyes, so it’s one of their most important senses.” Teela informed, blaisaly. “Tab is trying to comfort their wife in her sleep. I can’t fault them for that even if they’re having troubles getting themselves together enough to visit.”

“Wait…wife?” Catra just stared, “Mal and Tab...Tab and Mal..they’re together?”  
That had Teela tilting her head. “Yes?”  
“Like...together-together?”

“How together is ‘together’?” Now Teela was confused. “They have matching tattoos and De’va wears a collar which is a Theran symbol for marriage. Which...seems to have gotten lost in all of the battle’s confusion.” She then flushed. “Anything else about what they do isn’t really my business nor do I want it to be,” she coughed awkwardly in admission, “and you’ll only get De’va talking about that in any explicit detail when she’s outrageously drunk.”

Catra just stared dumbfounded, then mumbled. “They never said anything.” Catra was now flushed. “They never hold hands or talk all mushy to each other or have dumb pet names.”

“They never really had a honeymoon phase but,” Teela offered, “as far as I can tell, nobody but Tab gets to call her Grima, and De’va will snap at anyone else who tries. Same goes to anyone calling Tab ‘Manx’ -- they don’t like it unless De’va does it.” Teela offered a small smile, “and if you’re really lucky, and they don’t notice you paying attention? You’ll hear De’va call Tab ‘Lovely’. It’s adorable, but if you point it out she gets bent out of shape.

“Really? Oh.” Catra blinked, disbelieving that she didn’t catch that before. Only Tab called Mal ‘Grima’, in fact, Tab had even said just that to her once. “Oh.”

“Don’t worry,” Teela hid her laugh behind a hand, “those two tend to fly under most people’s radar unless you know them well. If you’re only catching them at times when both of them have to be all business, they tend to give very few hints that they’re anything more than colleagues.”

*

“Adora, please stop apologizing.” Glimmer’s voice was laced with exhaustion. It sounded hoarse, even though she had been conscious for almost five days now, though admittedly this was the first day she had been awake for more than two or three hours. Adora’s eyes flickered to the little display near Glimmer’s bed. Pulse steady. Oxygen levels still look good.

“I shouldn’t have been so eager to run out there though.” Adora sighed, putting her head on the side of the bed. It felt so soft. How long had it been since she last slept? She stiffened when she felt Glimmer running a hand through her hair. “I put us in danger, and Tab…”

“I put Tab in danger several times in all of this.” Glimmer noted, very self aware of the situation, and she shivered, “Tab...was frightening.”

“Don’t worry.” Adora had grabbed her hands. When? “I promise you that you won’t have to see them anymore or deal with them.” Adora squeezed Glimmer’s hands. “ You going to be okay? You’re shaking.”

“I’m fine. And Adora? It’s not your problem!” Glimmer grunted in annoyance. “If Tab is important to Catra we can’t just expect us to never come into contact with them. Especially if Catra is serious about helping Tallstar. I’ll have to figure it out myself.”

“That’s the problem.” Adora grumbled, her blue eyes, with dark bags below them blinked long and slow. “You saw how she threatened Tallstar. The Catra we know would never do that. We need to get our ship up and running and get out of here. These people, they’re changing her. Making her more violent. She was nothing like this when she was in the Horde.”

Glimmer stared at her evenly. “That’s...not fair. Not to Catra or to them.”  
“The Catra I know wouldn’t be okay with someone shooting one of her friends.”  
“You think she’s actually okay about it?” Glimmer asked.

“Well even if she isn’t, why should you be around Tab if it’s going to upset you?”  
“I’m not upset. I’m just tired.” Glimmer insisted. Adora pointed at the monitor. In the last few moments, Glimmer’s heart rate and blood pressure spiked.

“Catra’s staying on the Purrsia where Tab is like nothing happened, and you were out cold but she was at Mal’s bedside all the time. If she expects you to stick around Tab after what they did to you, that’s it.” Adora frowned.

“Catra’s been coming by for short visits though.She’s done that daily, right?” The last two, yesterday and the day before, were consecutive and Glimmer heavily got the sense they always had been. “Maybe she figured since you were here all the time that you had it covered?” Glimmer wanted to give Catra that benefit of a doubt. It was never as cut and dry as ‘caring less’.

“What about Bow?” Adora turned around. “She’s hardly even seen him.”

“You just told me yesterday Entrapta was constantly visiting him so you wouldn’t be too overwhelmed attending both of us. Things between Entrapta and Catra are still a little weird. I don’t see her visits there being anything but brief. You know how Catra gets.”

“I guess you’re right.” Adora sighed.

Glimmer stared at her lap and then asked quietly. “Did it ever occur to you that the image of who Catra is and who she actually is might not be the same person? Or that you’re judging an entire group of people based on a bad decision just one of them made in a terrible situation?”

Adora sighed. “All I could think of is Catra with Horde Prime. Terrified.”  
“Maybe she was,” Glimmer agreed with that image, “but we found her months later.”  
“And she’s become fast friends with these complete randoms!” Adora made a face.  
“You did that with me and Bow.”

“That-- that was different!” Adora defended. “I’ve always been able to make friends quickly. That’s never been something Catra does. She doesn’t trust people. She’s been hurt too much.”

“Well,” Glimmer proposed, “maybe they did something that made them worthy of her trust, and if they managed something like that, could they really be terrible people?”

A knock made them both jump. Glimmer’s eyes widened, then quickly schooled into something impassive. Adora hated it, how Glimmer always buried her emotions like that lately. She turned around and found Catra staring at them, with Melog looking just as surprised as the Theran was. There was a silence. One where it seemed like they all wanted to say something but couldn’t. Adora wanted to ask how much Catra had heard. Glimmer wanted to apologize for Adora’s comment and Catra debated acknowledging what she heard and calling them out on it or pretending she didn’t.

“Sparkles.” Adora let out a big breath at that. Glimmer held Catra’s eyes for a little longer before Catra continued. “How’s it going?” Melog purred and leapt onto Glimmer’s bet. Glimmer giggled when Melog nuzzled against her before settling in her lap. Adora looked left out.

“I’m awake!” Glimmer jumped in first, hoping to diffuse the tension, “and so. Bored!”  
“Maybe I’ll bring you a colouring book?” Catra joked, then looked to the blond. “Hey Adora.”

“Hey Catra.” Adora replied, warily.  
“How’s it going?”

“I’ve been busy with Bow and Glimmer, keeping vigil, talking to Adam.” Adora’s tone was meant to be light, but instead it was sharper than intended. “You know, friend stuff. How about you?”

Catra flinched at that. “I’ve been helping restock with the supplies Prince Adam gave the Purrsia.” She exhaled shakily. Glimmer looked back and forth between the two of them, panic blooming on her face. “Mog can’t help yet, and neither can Mal, so it’s been just me and Tom.”

“What about Tab?” Adora murmured hotly. Catra’s sharp ears caught it.

“Tab’s,” Catra was stumbling over her words, trying to pick them carefully, “been busy lately.”  
“Figuring out who among our friends should be shot next?”

“Adora!” Glimmer admonished. Melog stood, and snarled at Adora.

Catra, despite Adora’s less than graceful barb, moved past it quickly. “I also have been visiting Mal. She’s still not awake yet. I was visiting Mog before over here too, but now that he’s back home, it’s a little easier to check in on him.”

“I notice you and Tom visited Bow and Glimmer.” Adora brought up. “Mog and Mal can be excused, considering their injuries.” This had Catra huffing now.

“I get it. Tab hasn’t shown a whisker around here and it offends you.” Catra’s fangs flashed and Adora flinched at the sight, “how many times did you visit Mog? Or Mal who’s still asleep?”

“That’s not what this is about.” Adora defended. Melog hissed louder at this response.

“Of course it is! And to answer the question for you on the second -- not even once for Mal. I know because when I don’t see you in here with Glimmer, I say hello to Bow and I sit with Mal. Other than Tom, Adam, Teela and Magus Angora, no one else has come by.” Catra noted.

“Seems like Tab has a bad rap then.” Adora pointed out again. “Not even visiting the second worst injured person in all of this mess, who had life threatening injuries because of them.”

Catra’s eyebrows lifted. “Glimmer, I’m sorry if this comes across as rude --” she turned to face Adora directly, “Adora, Tab may have shot Glimmer but I think their responsibility to their own wife,” she stressed that word, “trumps anything they owe Glimmer, and they haven’t been able to handle visiting Mal even once.” Catra sighed.

“No offense taken.” Glimmer informed quietly, rubbing her collarbone. She looked a little pale, and like she wanted them to stop harping on the current person of interest. Melog was now nuzzling against her.

“Then Tab is just a coward and a flake.” Adora crossed her arms.

Glimmer frowned at that. “Adora. That’s not fair.”  
“But you were shot!”

“Bow got broken ribs. Mog was stabbed multiple times. Mal is still unconscious. Still! All of us were seriously injured.” Glimmer pointed out, her hands bunching in Melog’s fur, the large astral cat meeping when her grip tightened. “Not just me, and I get Tab did it,” her voice and hands shook, “but if Mal’s still sleeping, her outlook probably isn’t the best news, and being insensitive to that doesn’t help anything.”

“I see them walking around and recovering just fine. You’re not.” Adora pointed out.

“Neither is Mal.” Glimmer threw back, “Or did you forget the part where she’s still unconscious Adora?” Glimmer stressed.

“That’s different.” Adora protested.  
“How?”  
“She had injuries before this and she’s Theran.”  
“What does that have to do with anything?”  
“They heal quicker.” Adora brushed aside.  
“Do they? How much do you understand about how Therans heal?” Glimmer asked, exasperated..  
“Does it matter?”

“What would you prefer?” Catra snapped, interrupting them both. “For Tab to be in Glimmer’s room all the time?” Catra glared at Adora.

“Absolutely not.” Adora shut down that thought. “Or do you enjoy the idea of tormenting Glimmer?”

“So you don’t want them around Glimmer, but you want them to come by to see Glimmer? That doesn’t make any sense!”

“It doesn’t speak too highly that they haven’t even come by once in order to apologize to her.” Adora turned to Catra.

“Didn’t you just hear me? Tab hasn't even been able to visit their OWN wife, Adora! If anyone deserves Tab’s limited energy for a hospital visit, it’s Mal.” Catra defended.

“They certainly had a lot of energy to almost kill Glimmer!” Adora stood up. “They nearly did! Or did you hear that part! The least they can do is show up here and have a bit of remorse over it!”

“Why?” Catra questioned. “So you can guilt them about how nothing they do will ever be good enough to make it better? Or maybe you just want to lord over how much of a better, more moral person you supposedly are?”

“They should be in here begging Glimmer for her forgiveness.”  
“Yeah, and that needs to be between Tab and Glimmer. You have no place in that!”

“GUYS!” Glimmer shouted. Adora snapped to attention and sat down, arms crossed. Catra sighed, shaking her head. “Tab doesn’t have to do anything, Adora. I prefer it if they didn’t.” Glimmer’s eyes fell to her lap, “I mean, it’s not like I apologized to Mog yet, have I? Tab flat out said that leaving Mog alone could get him hurt, and it did. I didn’t listen.”

Adora huffed. “Again, that’s different. The enemy did it.”  
“Only because I didn’t listen to Tab!” Adora rolled her eyes at Glimmer’s assertion.

“Oh, so that justifies shooting you then?” Adora shook her head in disbelief, then regretted saying it when Glimmer visibly flinched.

“Do you think they just crashed their ship themself after flying it with no problem?” Glimmer’s voice shook as she asked that. “I’m not blameless here! Why don’t you get that?”

“Just come home with us, Catra.” Adora huffed, refusing to engage with Glimmer’s point. “They may look like you but they aren’t like you.” Adora sighed herself, eyes fluttering closed. “They don’t care about other people and will hurt them for getting in their way. Do they even care about you or are they just dragging you along? What happens when you’re in their way?”

Catra looked at her in disbelief backing up slowly. “I...you can’t be serious.”

Adora lifted her tired gaze. “I am. Let’s leave. Away from people who seem ready to gear up for another war for no good reason. I’m tired. We all are. You don’t belong here. Let’s go home. Spend time together. Just like old times. We’ve earned that, haven’t we?”

“What home?” Catra’s laugh was high pitched, forced and frankly frightening. “Yours?”  
“Etheria.” Adora sounded hesitant and uncomfortable. “Don’t be silly.”  
“Are you actually listening to yourself right now Adora?”  
“I am.” Adora had her arms crossed now. “I think you’re just twisting my words. Both of you.”  
“No. You just don’t notice you’re a hypocrite.” Catra shook her head. “I’ll be in Mal’s room.”

*

“Okay, give it another go.” Adam’s voice was rich, a warmth that made you feel like you were wrapped up in his long lanky arms and being squeezed in the best of hugs. Bow looked at him and focused on him as he did another set -- reaching for the weight by his feet, picking it up, feeling pain flame around his abdomen, to his sore ribs. He made a sound. It wasn’t pretty, and he felt his grip slipping. “Easy Bow! Easy!” Those strong arms grabbed the bar and put it safely on the rest above him. Bow sighed, his arms flopping uselessly.

“So much for healing up.”

“Ribs are ticky bones.” Adam winked, his long hair was tied back into a low ponytail. Today he was cleanly shaven and it brought a softness to his face, one where though he looked like a slightly older version of Adora. “You can’t exactly set them, and they sort of move no matter what you do. Coughed? They hurt. Sneezed? They hurt? Use the bathroom, try to run, laugh? Not a thing you can do.” He sat at the edge of the bench and patted Bow’s knee gently. Bow flushed. “Take it easy. Besides, in your case it didn’t help that, well…you had your binder on.”

Bow coughed. “Yeah. Can you not mention that to the others? They’re only going to worry more about that.” Adam helped him sit up and he rolled his aching shoulders.

“It’s fine. I get it. Really.” Adam admitted. “No worries. I have someone making sure you have a replacement. Speaking of such things -- Tab knows a thing or two about that as well.”

“I don’t think Tab’s gonna be talking to anyone for a while.” Bow huffed.

Adam laughed despite himself. “I suppose. The quicker De’va wakes up, the quicker she can set her spouse straight. Well, maybe not ‘straight’ in all senses. Pretty sure Tab not being straight is part of why De’va likes them so much.” Bow chuckled along with Adam. “Seriously though, I am starting to get worried, but Tab and I aren’t close so I can’t do much.”

“Do you guys fight a lot?” Bow probed gently as he took a sip of water. “You and Tab?”

“It’s complicated. I want to be friends with Tab. Good friends.” Adam scratched the back of his neck, “but some...thing always gets between the two of us.”

Bow took a deep breath and regretted it when his lungs flared with firey pain. He coughed at Adam looked at him. “I’m fine. Why is it so complicated, if you mind me asking?”

“When you’re a part of a Royal Family, it can be really isolating. Often feels like the only people who understand you are those in your situation.” He explained. Bow nodded along. “De’va and I -- because she was a Princess in Exile -- grew up with me and Teela. We’re all rather close. We were Engaged for a little while, De’va and I. Well, we kinda still are. It’s complicated.”

“Wait, really?” Bow gaped at him. “You and her?”  
Adam scratched his cheek and looked away. “It was politically motivated. For our alliance.”  
“How did that come about?”

“I came up with the idea.” Adam began. “I figured we knew and trusted each other so well that putting a different label on it for the sake of our respective Kingdoms wouldn’t be that big a deal. Boy was I ever wrong about that!” Adam laughed awkwardly and Bow got the sense that it was at himself, “I think the prospect of the commitment scared her but she felt she had to do it for Panthera. I started to realize De’va is the type whom, if you told her lighting herself on fire would keep Panthera warm, she’d do it. A great trait to have in a Queen within reason, but as her best friend?”

“Glimmer and Adora both can be like that sometimes.” Bow spoke it quietly, “so I think I understand where you’re coming from. It’s hard to see someone you care about make terrible decisions that put themselves in harm's way for the sake of a goal they’re convinced will help everyone else.”

“Nail on the head, friend.” Adam sighed.  
“That sounds rather uncomfortable to watch.”  
“It was. Especially because I felt responsible putting her in that position.”  
“What happened?”

“After a few too many times of watching her ogle Tabby’s ass...ets,” Adam coughed, “I told her to stop being stupid and I didn’t hold it against her. We’ve shelved the idea. Not gone completely for purely political practicality, but now with the understanding that Tab’s got to fit in there somewhere, somehow in order for it to be healthy for her, but trying to get De’va to sit down so that all three of us can hash that out is damn near impossible. It’s like she refuses.”

“That sounds...romantic and tense.” Bow observed.

“It was,” Adam confirmed for him, “Anyways, when you're Royalty you get so used to people talking like you’re above them that it’s very hard to feel seen for yourself rather than just your crown and title.”

“Glimmer has that problem too.” Bow admitted, “She’s our Queen back home.”  
“And you’re a commoner, right? You don’t have any noble blood yourself?”

“Not even a drop.” Bow chuckled. “But we’re best friends still. She says I’m the only person who constantly treats her as just Glimmer. Adora doesn’t do that sometimes, apparently.” 

“That’s why I think things work for De’va and Tabby.” Adam admitted. “Tab is also a commoner.” 

“I would have never guessed that. The crew of the Purrsia just seem so casual with each other, it’s hard to believe any of them are Royalty.” Bow noted. “Maybe I’ll have to ask Tab for some pointers on how to manage being the ‘commoner' best friend?” He grinned.

“Maybe! Best friend today, spouse tomorrow?” Adam chuckled and shot him a grin.  
Bow felt his cheeks glow. “Am I that transparent?”

“A little, but I think that’s a redeeming quality of yours.” Adam patted him on the shoulder. “I don’t know much about how they met, but De’va mentioned when she was grieving for her brotherTabby was the only person who didn’t make her feel terrible for not wanting to step forward as Queen. As the last in a large family, she never expected she’d have the responsibilities.”

“That sounds tough.” Bow’s lips pressed together. “Glimmer...almost didn’t want to go through her own coronation. The night before, late at night, she found me and she was a mess. We were at war with the Horde and Brightmoon needed her to be Queen and she felt barely a week after Queen Angella disappeared wasn’t enough to just simply move on and find a new normal, but we had to.” Bow closed his eyes when he caught Adam nodding in understanding. “She lives in such a different, incredibly stressful world sometimes…”

“That’s just the way it is for us.” Adam agreed. “That’s why I rub Tab the wrong way. Even though I am Eternian, I still am the model of something appropriate for a Theran Queen’s partner. I’m of Royal blood, for starters.” He explained. “As a Kingdom with a population as devastated as Panthera's has been, they also put a lot of value on families, even for their Queen. So a…” Adam chose his words carefully as he tried to describe the unique situation delicately, “...traditionally unconventional relationship where it’s not immediately clear to outside parties if that pairing could bring kittens into the world isn’t looked upon too kindly.”

“Kids. I haven’t even thought about that stuff.” Bow huffed. “I wonder if Glimmer has?”

“Chances are, she’s already been made to consider it a few times now.” Adam nodded, sighing heavily. “There’s always a lot of pressure in monarchies for that kind of stuff.” Space always made the air in the ship cold and now that he and Bow were done working out, their sweat would cool quickly and his breathable, skin tight clothing would soon become a detriment. He threw the long sweater over his shoulders and tried not to chuckle when Bow tried to pretend he wasn’t watching very closely. “Let’s get you back to your room.”

“Thanks Adam.” Bow accepted his hand to stand and began ambling back towards the door. Adam fell in step with him. “So on a scale of one to ten, how mad will the doctors be that I’m already trying to work out and build back my strength?”

“Probably an eleven.” Adam’s grin was easy. “But. I get it. We have work to do.”  
“When do you think you’ll send out that broadcast?”

“Well,” Adam’s grin disappeared, “we have to make sure De’va’s still in once she wakes up. Old man Angora says he’s pretty sure as soon as she’s aware Kittrina is tangled in this mess, there’s no way she’ll back down.” There was a pause. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”

“Who is this Kittrina anyways?”

“Princess De’va’s niece.” Adam explained softly. “Well, her other niece, now that we’re counting Catra. By her elder sister, Princess Sunda.” He hummed. “According to Magus Angora, Catra is most likely Lybica’s daughter -- Sunda’s twin sister.” He stroked his chin. “So that means the current succession is technically Princess Sunda, Princess De’va, then Kittrina, but if Catra is indeed Lybica’s daughter, she bumps Kittrina because Catra’s older and of age. Which means Catra is now in Kittrina’s crosshairs, and De’va is going to want to take the heat off that so outright declaring herself as The Queen of Panthera would be a way to do so.” He grinned. “Gotta love the lives of monarchies, right?”

“Sounds complicated and stressful.”

Adam patted his shoulder gently. “The only complication is that De’va isn’t the oldest living daughter of the last Queen, but everyone knows Sunda is very ill, so her younger sister stepping up isn’t wrong per say, just tricky.” Adam’s eyes fluttered, his long, curly lashes brushing his cheeks as he stopped by the doorway of Bow’s room. “There’s an accusation that De’va killed the previous Queen. To have her now call herself the Queen might inadvertently reinforce the perception that she really is a cold blooded usurper. This has to be handled delicately.”

“We’ll figure it out together.” Bow assured. That earned him a second look from Adam as he looked him over, once, twice.

“Listen, Bow, you’re a very beautiful, warm man, but this isn’t your war. If my sister doesn’t think it's her war, why should you get yourself involved?”

“Adora can make her call, and I can make mine.” Bow protested. “I don’t like the idea of simply taking Catra and going home. It doesn’t sit right.” He inhaled, a little too sharp and felt a poke of pain. “If we told her we’re just going to go and leave you all to this, knowing the Purrsia and its crew are going to be in the middle of it with you, she probably won’t take it well. Not to mention, they were hard on us, but they were also very kind.”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “Were they?”

“Tom made us delicious food! Tab showed me how cool the bridge was!” Bow listed off, glowing with the memory. “Mog showed me his workshop and all the prosthetics he’s working on and answered my questions about Theran culture. He even gave me a book when I said I wanted to write it down and maybe collect information for my Dads’ library.”

Something soft tugged at Adam’s lips. “Mog? Huh?”  
“What?”  
“Catra didn’t grow up with the Therans, but they're very communal people, you know? In fact, our monarchies couldn’t be more different.”

“How so?”

“In Eternia, if you are the King, everyone must serve you, even at the expense of themselves. In Panthera, if you are the Queen, it is your sworn duty to serve your people even at your own personal expense. In return the people of Panthera will always make sure that their Queen will never need a thing.”

“So it’s very give and take?” Bow asked, “My Dads used to do a lot of research into different styles of Monarchy, and there’s generally two different ones that sound like what you described.” He hummed, his eyes closing. “The Servant King.”

“The Therans.” Adam confirmed. “My, you’re rather well read.”  
“And the Divine King, which I’m guessing is how Eternia runs.” Bow proposed. 

“Yes. It’s one of those things many people in Etheria don’t really get about Panthera. That even at the top of their leadership, the individual matters less than one’s responsibility to the group. There have been some Therans who willingly fought with the Horde against Eternia because they had their most important people with them and that’s all that really mattered.”

Bow nodded. “I’ll try talking to Adora again. Between you and me? They're good to Catra, they were kind to us— it’s wrong to just leave them knowing they need help.”

“She just sounds tired and worried. Just give her time.” Adam smiled disarmingly. “In fact, if I have my way, she’ll be going home to Eternia for a bit. Maybe if she sees father, he might stop all this madness peacefully.”

Bow couldn’t place the feeling but something about that assertion just didn’t sit well with him.

*

Catra was in the Fright Zone again.

Her tail bristled. She doesn’t recall how she got here, only that she was. She quietly moved about the space, uncertain and unsure. Quietly there was that roar she heard again, but it was no longer pained, just strangely lonely.

“Mal?” She called out. There was no answer. She wrapped her arms around her, then her tail about her waist, frowning. She saw it then, blond hair. “Adora!” She ran after her, but everytime she caught up, Adora was always just out of reach. Eventually she was just too out of breath and she called out after her again. “ADORA!”

Adora turned, looked at her with cold eyes and then turned around and began walking away again. Catra grit her teeth and decided to try something else.

“C’yra!?” She tried. Nothing. “Queen C’yra? Grandma!” Then it hit her to try again, something she didn’t consider before. “De’va?”

A tiny hand pulled at her hand. She looked up and found a young child with odd coloured eyes: one gold, one blue. She had two tails, and a white patch on her chest, and for the first time Catra noticed that there was a faint line on that light patch. A scar, neat and nearly straight. Surgical. The young girl sucked on her thumb, the little fingers of her left hand wrapping around Catra’s thumb. She tugged on Catra’s arm.

“You want me to follow you?” The young De’va nodded. Catra blinked, confused, but that confusion went away when she spotted another Theran queen up ahead. Spiky black hair. Odd coloured eyes, short, just like her. Her skin was quite a bit fairer than Mal’s with reddish brown stripes just like hers. The woman looked at Catra, then to De’va and tilted her head before De’va suddenly let go and ran to her.

“Sissy!” De’va called out. The woman bent down as De’va tackled her and Catra watched in confusion as the young girl put her hand on the woman’s stomach, then looked back over at Catra. “Sissy, look! She came from here!”

“Oh De’va, you’re being silly. Of course she came from her mother’s stomach. All Theran do, you already know that.” She scooped De’va into her arms, and De’va nuzzled into the crook of her neck, her tails swinging in agitation. “What is it, De’va?”

“You said you were going to name her Cafra, right sissy?”

The woman froze, now looking at Catra. “Say...what’s your name?”  
Catra blinked. “Catra.” She answered. 

“They must have misspelled it when they translated it from our language.”  
“Where would they have seen my name?” Catra questioned. 

“We usually have multiple kittens in a litter. So newborns have a blanket with your name on it. Maybe the name didn’t make sense to them at first?” Murmured the woman. She placed De’va down and the girl grinned at them both, her arms behind her as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. De’va was suddenly enveloped in light and it stretched until messy black hair and dark features met them. “How long have I been hanging around here in the back of your mind?”

De’va, the grown De’va -- no, she was Mal now, Catra was almost certain of it, stared at the woman. “Maybe eleven years, Lybica?” Her smile was tinged with sadness. 

Lybica’s nose scrunched. “So I should be thirty-four now?”

“No. Forty-six. Forty-seven, maybe? You only came to me when I was seventeen.” Mal corrected. “It’s been nearly twenty-four years since you disappeared, Sis, I’m twenty-eight now. Not Five like you last saw me. Older than you ever were.” Her eyes fluttered close. “I could tell you had so many regrets, and so much anger at how quickly and suddenly you had to leave your little one, so it made sense that you found me, Sissy.”

“You’ve always been unusually talented, De’va.” Lybica asked, reaching out for Mal then hesitating. Mal was looking up to the sky, and she seemed distant, almost ethereal, like she was there and not at the same time. “Even when you were a kitten who hadn’t even opened her eyes, we could sense your incredibly strong magical powers.” Lybica grabbed Mal’s hand. “We always thought it was Lynx blessing you for being the smallest of a litter with such weak hearts...” Mal’s face grew dark for a moment.

“Well, being smaller than everyone afforded me time my litter didn’t get. Time enough for Kal to make that brave decision between her and I.” Mal chuckled, pressing a hand to her chest. “She told Mom to choose me.” Lybica’s eyes widened and she nodded.

“So it’s because of Kal? Or the Demon? Or just you?”

“Yes.” Came a simple, nonspecific answer. “Sometimes the right combination of circumstances happen together.” Mal expanded. “Grimalkin is not all that bad though, in fact I think the so-called ‘demon of vengeance’ is actually rather misunderstood. It must break her heart.”

“Misunderstood? Her? De’va, only you would say something that weird and cryptic.”

“I don’t say it lightly. Therans, with our bipedal and other forms are people of dual natures. Why wouldn’t the Divinity we believe in not be the same? A Demon to some could be a Goddess to others,” Mal finally stood still, and pushed Lybica’s shoulder gently, “and besides, if it wasn’t for Grimalkin…” Mal trailed off, “Well, just go. Talk to her, Sissy. I’ll give you two some time.”

“It won’t hurt you, will it?” Lybica asked, looking back to Mal, who shook her head.

“Your memory and spirit got me out of the bad ones…” Mal rubbed her left leg as if to make the point. “I think I can take it from here, Sissy. I’ll try to lean on Tabby when I need to.” Her smile was thin. With that, she began walking off into the Fight Zone, somewhere Catra wasn’t sure, but she soon vanished into thin air. While that other woman, Lybica, slowly approached her.

“Look at you.” She murmured softly. “You’re as beautiful as I always dreamed you would be.”  
Catra looked at the woman and held her breath, looking her over. “Who are you?”  
“You haven’t figured it out yet? We have the same eyes you know.”

Catra looked over those features again. At how Lybica’s skin was the same as hers in colouring, and those stripes. It was only her hair and ears that were darker, and she had lighter ear tufts. Catra pulled on her own gently. “Mal said I looked good with ear tufts. It’s probably because they make me look more like you, isn’t it?”

“Maybe.” Came a non committal answer, “though is that a bad thing?”

“You’re my mother, aren’t you?” Lybica nodded her head. Catra felt her eyes well with tears as she stepped a little closer, her lips twitching. “Can I…” she didn’t have to ask. Lybica’s smile grew and she crushed Catra close to her. She was warm and strong, and she smelled of something woody and earthy, and almost minty. Familiar.

“You know, I never wanted to leave you.” Lybica murmured.  
“I know.” Catra admitted, frowning. “You still did.”

“And I’m sorry, and I know sorry will never be enough.” Lybica looked over her shoulder and frowned and Catra let her gaze follow, back over where Mal disappeared to. “Is there anything you want to say to me? Maybe ask about who your father was or what he was like? Or if you had any siblings?”

Catra broke from the hug and kept staring off in the distance for a while before answering. “No.”  
Lybica looked taken aback. “Are you sure?”  
“What were you going to tell me, other than the fact that they’re probably all gone.”

“You did have a littermate. A boy,” Lybica answered, “and we got to raise you both for a short while. Up until you said your first words, but yes, we are all gone now.”

“What difference would telling me more make?” Catra’s words weren’t bitter, or sad, just simple matter of fact as she kept staring where she last saw Mal’s back, “it won’t bring him or you or my brother. It won’t give me the opportunity to actually know you akk. You’ll just be stories in my head, and it won’t change a thing about all I had to do to get to this point. You’ll just be names I know, and really not much else.”

“You’re a very pragmatic one, you know that?” Lybica’s eyes were wet, watering, “like your grandmother. Just like your Auntie, actually.” Lybica hiccuped with laughter. “She may look like Dad, but De’va’s attitudes and mannerisms are one hundred percent our mother’s. Your Grandmother’s.” 

“Look,” Catra looked as if she had been scolded, her ears drooped, “I’m not saying I don’t care or never cared, I just…” Catra let her words drift away for a moment before she continued. “it’s kind of too little too late and it’s not your fault but you can’t do anything for me. You’re gone.”

Lybica nodded. “But De’va can.”

“Yeah.” Catra agreed, her eyes narrowing, her mouth set, “I guess so, and maybe, maybe I can do something for her. Maybe that’s for the best because, well, because Mal is…”

“She’s still alive, and life belongs to the living.” Lybica shook her head. “I take no offence Cafra, it’s fine. Without us, you still became such a strong person. I have no right to claim it, but if you’d allow it of me, I am incredibly proud of you. If I may say, you should be proud of yourself.” She paused and added, “I also know for a fact, even if she’s too stoic to come out and tell you, your Auntie is proud of you too.”

“Thank you.” Catra flushed and stared at Lybica in the eyes, “Mom.”

Lybica’s smile grew as she wiped at her eyes, but there was a sadness mixed in with the joy. “If I may make one selfish request, as a mother who never got to be there for her child…”

“What is it?” Catra asked.

“De’va made a deal with Grimalkin. They are a Demon of Vengeance.” Lybica took a breath and sighed, “if you’re serious about helping De’va, about you both being there for each other, try to find out the conditions of that pact she made.” Lybica folded her hands together, almost in prayer as she bowed her head. “I’m afraid whatever she’s traded to the demon to have a wish completed might take her away from you.”

Catra’s eyes widened. She felt her heart rate jump. “So she’s just going to leave me behind too?” Lybica’s smile finally gave way to tears and she said nothing. Catra felt it then, like a tug of war, fear and frustration. Anger and worry. “Just like everyone else.”

“Talk to her. Please.” Lybica urged. “She made that deal at a much different time in her life.”

*

“How many of you Magicats are there left?”

Bright green eyes tracked her every movement, even in this darkness. She wasn’t sure how long since she had seen sunlight, but she knew her company, her jailor, he could see in this darkness with ease. His eyes were so clear even with so little light.

“We haven’t been known as the Magicats to the rest of the universe in a very long time, my dear friend.” His voice was deep, chesty and yet warm. There was a gentleness to this man, and she saw a shock of red hair when the light caught him. “We are now known as the Therans.”

“What happened to your old Kingdom? The one that was sister to my own once? Halfmoon.”

“The Heart of Etheria Project.” The Theran man stepped closer to the bars and she could get a better look at him. “Or rather a disagreement over it.” His height, his build, all suggested he was a warrior. He was taller than her, something which she wasn’t used to. She tilted her head back to look at him, and he smiled, charmingly even. “The first Runestone ever created by the First Ones. The Twilight Topaz. It had a few problems. Our magic did work a little differently from the rest of Etheria, so it made sense that it couldn’t be standardized into the Eternians’ little project.”

“So the shards I found in Despondos are…”

“Yes. Shards of the Twilight Topaz. The first Runestone made for Project Etheria. It was a failure.” The man stared at her, his eyes searching. “Then it became a blame game that eventually made the tensions between my ancestors and the Eternians reach a boiling point that erupted in war.” A pause. “I’m happy to say I am great friends with the Eternian King now, and we have put those days of anger and war between our people behind us. It is, however, a fragile thing. Queen Angella. My Great niece was so kind to bring you here to me.”

“I’m finding it hard to believe there’s any kindness involved.” Angella gave him a sour look.

“What I’m saying is, if she left you with the likes of Adam, you would have been convinced to help people who would doom us all. Something you would have to carry on your consciousness for the rest of Eternity.” He smiled charmingly at her, and she frowned back.

“So you know about me?”

“You’re very much like a friend of ours, the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull. A Mizar, correct?” He purred softly. “Your people exist beyond magic, time and space.”

“I haven’t heard that name in a very long time.” Angella could feel her pulse jumping. “What makes you think I’m one of them? I clearly don’t have their powers or limitless knowledge.”

“That’s because you’re an exile who had much of that stripped away from you, aren’t you? A Mizar who didn’t want to be worshipped. A Mizar who detested your people’s stance on never intervening. Someone who wanted to save the people from their suffering.” Angella looked away from him. “Ah. So it is. How admirable.”

“My reasons for leaving our dimension are just that. Mine.”

“I suppose you’re right, though for what it’s worth, whatever those reasons were might have been correct. The Realm of Mizar no longer exists. Or rather, it and it’s inhabitants no longer have physical forms. It tore itself apart. Or did it’s people?” He shrugged. “I suppose one like me will never know these things.”

“Don’t be so flippant.” Angella grit her teeth. “I know I am one of the last ones of my kind left.”

“So there are still more who can exist on this plane besides you and Teela-Na? Why thank you.” Angella almost wanted to curse out loud. That was stupid of her, and she knew it. “I’m ashamed to have you locked up in here.” He was back to being suave and charming. “I know we aren’t treating you as you truly deserve. Your people are the closest to what the universe has to Goddesses.”

“Isn’t that blasphemous for a Magicat to say? Do you not have your Goddess Lynx?”  
“Is it blasphemous if I believe the Goddess Lynx my people pray to is really a Mizar?”  
“I suppose such things are really up to interpretation.” Angella dodged the question.  
“Well that is mine. Goddess Lynx either transforms into or possesses a Theran form.”

Angella was very quiet at that. Finally she spoke up. “What does this have to do with me?”

“Randor and I will lead Eternia and Panthera to prosperity. We know what’s at stake. Adam claims he will but he’s young and naive. He has allied himself with a Theran so desperate for the Throne she would kill her own mother to get to it. That isn’t someone who would help Panthera and Eternia from falling into war again.”

“Instead of trying to flatter me,” Angella stepped up to the bars and wrapped her hands around two of them, “why don’t you tell me who you are and what it is, exactly, that you’re after?”

“How rude of me.” He dipped his head and put a hand to his heart. “My name is Carnivus D’Riluth. I am currently the Chief of Panthera. You see, ordinarily we have a Queen who sits on the throne, but we are currently undergoing a succession crisis.” He explained.

“What does that have to do with Despondos?” Angella glowered.

“Our late Queen, C’yra D’Riluth was my beloved sister. Her daughter De’va slayed her in cold blood. My older niece, Sunda, who should have taken over became so ill with grief that she is no longer fit to lead.” He sighed, sadly, as if the thought tore him apart. “My Great Niece, Kittrina? She is still too young to sit the throne and De’va isn’t trustworthy. Not with how much rage she has. It’s destructive. I want nothing more than for the entire Verse to know peace, for Panthera to know peace, but it can’t know that peace with broken people leading us.”

Angella almost wanted to scoff at that. She knew his type: people who were convinced that leadership belonged to an elite few. Who told only half truths that made them seem like the only option that was reasonable. The Broken were too broken to be anything else but a drain on society. Yet they always dodged the two questions that always bothered her: who decided what was broken? Who was responsible for how these people became broken in the first place?

“So your objective is peace?” Angella asked incredulously.  
“Absolutely, your Majesty.” Came Carnivus’ dulcet tone.  
“And how do you plan to obtain it?”

“Having the Heart of Etheria on our side will give us strength. We intend to use it only as a deterrent, nothing else. I assure you. Will you be so kind to tell us where we can find Etheria?” 

Angella tilted her head. “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know.”  
“Can you give us a hint?” Carnivus tried again.

“Even if I did know, Chief Carnivus, I think I’m a little too old and a little too jaded to believe that the only reason a Kingdom would want a powerful weapon is for it to act as a deterrent.”

His expression morphed then. His lips pulled back. His teeth glinted in the low light, his eyes narrowed and a low, reverberating growl emanated. Angella pulled her hands as far as the slack of the chains would allow and found -- as always, it wouldn’t be enough to help her if this turned into an altercation.

“We will find it, with or without your help.” That was about what Angella expected, those pupils were now practically angry slits. “You can either join the victors who will make history, or you can die and be remembered on the wrong side as part of the people who resisted peace.”

“Peace at what cost?”

“The rabble can’t be united under one banner.” The Theran Chief sighed, “that is why Horde Prime was always doomed to be nothing more than a conqueror. No. We will let the people be themselves, govern themselves, we just won’t let them forget that should they oppress others, we will be the ones who will cut them down without mercy.”

“You don’t sound all that different from the Horde. I’d say you’re ruling by fear, just like them.”  
“We’re nothing alike.”  
“You want control, and you’re using fear to get it.” Angella locked eyes with him. “It’s the same.”

In a flash of movement she found herself leaping backwards just as he lunged forward. The bars creaked loudly and bent towards her under his massive strength as he came snarling at her. His body had started to shift into a snout and powerful jaws snapped between bars.

“We. Are. Nothing. Like. The. Horde. Not Panthera.”

“Hey Uncle! I’m back!” Came a girl's voice from down a hall. Angella exhaled a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding when Carnivus backed away from the bars. He shifted into his more human looking form from before nodded.

“We’ll continue this later.”

“Goodness. I hope not.” Angella muttered. If he heard her, he didn’t acknowledge her. He disappeared down a corridor and she slumped to the ground, her head in her hands.

Carnivus found Kittrina with bandages on her cheek and arm and he looked at her appraisingly. She flushed and turned away. “Welcome home, my dear Niece.”

Kittrina’s expression went strangely blank. He never knew what to think of it -- whether it was her trying to have a poker face or if sometimes she was just a little, well, vapid. She was young after all, and for a Theran girl her age it could be either one. “I hear mother’s pregnant again.”

“It seems so.” Carnivus smiled. So it was the first today.  
“Congratulations on becoming a father again, Uncle.” Kittrina’s voice was very even.

“It’s still a little too early for that, don’t you think?” He placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched as he did so. “They could be still-born again.”

“Then what? If they don’t make it what will you do?” Kittrina looked away from him. “Mother is getting older. Having kittens will only get harder and harder from now on.”

“There are still options for continuing the D’Riluth line, is there not?” His hand gently brushed against her cheek. She jerked away. “De’va may not be fit to be Queen, but no one says her children wouldn’t be?”

“Can she even have children?” Kittrina frowned. “She was in the Dens for a while, and they don’t exactly want pregnant Therans around. Can she even carry to term?”

“King Randall would make sure she had the best doctors.” He dismissed out of hand.  
“What about her mental state? How many Therans like her drown their kittens?”

“If she needs to be chained up the entire six months and the time it takes for the young ones to be weaned, I’m not against it. Their safety would be more important.”

“And just what would that do for the mental health of her kittens?” Carnivus’ smile was all teeth when he stooped down so he was about the same height as her. He grabbed her chin. She trembled and her eyes darted away from his.

“Perhaps punishing her for your grandmother’s murder by sending her off to the Dens was a little over the top, no?” He admitted softly. “No matter, if she dies bringing kittens into the world, that works out better for everyone involved, doesn’t it?” A long, pregnant pause. “Or are your protests a way to say you’re volunteering?” Kittrina shivered and shook her head violently.

“I’m still seventeen Uncle, and very much not interested in kittens.” He straightened up and she sighed, watching him leave her personal space that he invaded too easily. His hands folded behind his back and took a few steps away, his tail bouncing along behind him.

“Well, what about your older cousin?” A pin could be heard in the room. Kittrina even forgot to breathe. “What’s the matter, Kittrina?”

“I don’t have a cousin.” Kittrina quickly rushed to dismiss.  
“You have your spies, I have mine.” Carnivus was grinning. “Did you think I’d never find out?”  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

He closed the distance between them so quickly that Kitrina scrambled backwards and fell on her butt, staring at him. He squatted down to lean over her and with a firm push, had her back to the ground.

“An odd eyed Theran who is constantly hanging around De’va? Looking strangely like your mother? Someone who has an identical twin?” His smile was toothy again. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence. It was very easy to put two and two together. Say, how old do you think she is?”

Kittrina’s lips moved but no sound came from her throat.

“Older than you I’m sure. Didn’t your Aunt Lybica go out on a shuttle when she was heavy with kittens? My, she’s at least twenty then. Probably older. Definitely of age. Say, how long do you think it would take before I broke her in?”

“Uncle,” Kittrina’s eyes were burning, “you’re a monster.”

“There, there,” Carnivus reached out and gently rubbed the tears from her eyes, “How about we come up with a compromise?” He leaned forward so he spoke right against her ear. “You get me De’va and it doesn’t have to be you or this poor new girl who knows nothing about all of this. Once De’va has my kittens and my leadership over Panthera is cemented as the father of it’s next Queen, you can slit De’va’s throat for all I care.” He sighed softly. “I know you’re still angry about her taking everyone away from you. Well, is it a deal?”

Kittrina couldn’t bear to speak the words out loud so she nodded, a short, tiny bob of her head as she swallowed hard. He kissed her on the forehead then stood up, helping her to her feet.

“Now...what was it that you wanted to tell me?”

Kittrina’s eyes didn’t leave the floor. “There’s some outsiders involved now. From Etheria.”  
“Oh? The long lost gem.”  
“They came on a ship.”  
“And where is that ship now?”

“With the Purrsia and Starship Eternia. They are currently meandering among some mining planets.” Kittrina looked uncomfortable. “Two of the outsiders are gravely injured. One was shot by Tabby Manx.”

“Juicy.” Carnivus grinned.  
“The other was the one I took care of. Along with Moggie Blue.”  
“And De’va?”  
“Still unconscious.” Kittrina held her arm against her side. “That ship probably has the coordinates.”

“You have a good spy.” Carnivus inhaled deep and held it. “Who else have you told?”  
“I haven’t said a thing to King Randor yet.”

“Good.” Carnivus declared. “He claims we’re good friends, but that’s only because in our current predicament, we Therans need to be subservient to him and the Eternians. I wonder if we had that weapon’s power if we’d still be friends now that we could be equals. Or will he declare war because he’ll find us rising to a similar level of power threatening?”

Kittrina didn’t respond to his musing and he turned to face her and sighed, almost sadly at the sight before him. She seemed like such a small child, cowering before him.

“You know I’d never hurt you, right, Kittrina?” He asked very gently.  
“Yes Uncle.”  
“Good. Go now. See if you can get us the remains of that ship. Don’t fail me.”

*

“Where are you going in a state like that?”

Tallstar almost cursed out loud and quickly shoved the device in her hands into her chair, squeezing it between her thigh and the side of the chair. She forced a smile and looked at the two men who had approached her and stopped wheeling, and quietly spun her wheelchair around. She looked to the man with the prosthetic hand and full beard then to the heavily built man beside him with a mustache. They both had auburn hair cut in a similar style, something that made her wonder, now that she could see their similar features, if they were brothers. Maybe even twins.

“I thought your Prince said I wasn’t a prisoner on this ship.” Tallstar tried gently. The two men exchanged a look, and then shrugged.

“That is true.” Said the man with the prosthetic hand. “Though Duncan and I are concerned that you’re heading to the hangar again. You know those new prosthetic legs of yours aren’t going to be done for a while?”

Tallstar schooled her expression into something neutral as she looked at the two men. “I know, in fact, Prince Adam said something about wanting Moggie Blue to help out?”

Both men sighed at that declaration. “He’s apparently a genius among Theran.”  
“Definitely among them, Malcolm.” Came a snicker from the one with the mustache.

“In his defence, it seems your original legs had more function than most prosthetics. Things that helped you fight and such.” Malcolm continued, “he’s definitely an expert on that since he’s been building limbs that can transform for some time now. Therans are Shifters, you see. They have a Beast form, and missing limbs can impede that transformation. They say Princess De’va’s leg is pretty impressive -- they had to take it off to look after all her injuries.”

Tallstar looked at him dully. “I know. Now if you don’t mind, I need to get going.” She began wheeling again only to be blocked off from the more physically intimidating one, Duncan.

“Last I checked,” spoke Duncan, “there wasn’t an emergency on our ship. Even if there were, Malcom and I would have it under control, and if we couldn’t He-Man would.”

Tallstar sighed. “Look. I appreciate how much you’ve all done for me, but I can’t stay. I need to find my siblings and get as far as possible from the mess that’s about to erupt.”

Duncan frowned, running his fingers over his moustache. “Hey, didn’t that Theran girl promise you to help you out with that?”

“What, you mean that new Princess?” Malcolm asked.  
“Shh. Brother, that’s a rumour. We don’t even know if that’s true or not.” Duncan scolded.  
“Some people are saying that’s who she is though.” Malcolm pointed out.

“Yes, but Princess De’va hasn’t confirmed it. If anyone should get the last say on that matter as to whether the claim is legit, it’s her. Especially since she’s going to be the one with the political power to make it official, soon.” Duncan frowned. “Providing she doesn’t die here.”

Tallstar found something about that last statement to be a bit off. “Hasn’t she been stable for the last few weeks?” 

“Doesn’t mean she can’t be a vegetable.” Duncan pointed out. “She’s still not awake yet. These things are unpredictable.”

Tallstar weighed her words very carefully. “And what would be the benefit of her succumbing to her injuries?”

Duncan looked scolded. His face flushed red, clashing with his hair. “I would never! I’m just saying if it did happen, I’m not sure everyone would consider it a tragedy. The Therans have a nasty habit of siding with whomever they think will keep them safe.”

“So they’re survivors trying to make the best of a raw deal.” Talstar analyzed.

“Maybe it’s best if we drop this topic, Duncan,” Malcom interrupted before his brother could respond. Tallstar’s eyes narrowed as she looked from one and then the other.

“Look, tell Prince Adam I’m sorry. But I gotta go.”

“You’re wise not to want to wait for the Therans. They are unreliable, but you don’t have your new legs yet. Mounting a rescue mission now would be impossible.” Duncan noted.

“I know, but I have to do something as their big sister. I have to.”

“Then maybe you should ask Prince Adam?” Malcolm suggested. “We’re in the position to follow through with a promise like that, and if he orders it you’ll have the help of Fisto,” he pointed his thumb at himself, then wrapped his arm around his brother’s shoulders, “and Man-At-Arms!”

Tallstar nodded. “Thank you, but I was going to see if maybe I could talk to Catra first.”

“She’s probably by Princess De’va’s side.” Duncan informed. “But be careful. From what I’ve noticed, that Theran, named Tabby? He’s been coming around at night when no one’s been noticing to visit Princess De’va.” He paused to look at his wrist. “It’s getting very late.”

“What does a Theran named Tabby have to do with me talking to Catra?” Now Tallstar was getting a little annoyed with these two. Malcolm sighed.

“Tabby is supposedly the Captain of the Ship we have travelling with us, the Purrsia.”

“And the Princess' lover, apparently.” Duncan added. “Point is, Tabby is a known danger we’re travelling with. That Glimmer girl who is friends with Princess Adora? According to the Princess’ account, her friend was gunned down by that Theran.” He sighed. “We’ve been telling Prince Adam everyone’s getting restless every day he doesn’t address the issue, but he keeps insisting on waiting for Princess De’va to wake up so they can decide together on how to handle it. We worry this is going to set a president where the Therans close to the new Queen get off easy for any crimes they have committed.”

“So what you’re telling me is, this Tabby person is dangerous?” Tallstar gleaned. The two brothers nodded. “Dangerous enough to gun down someone on the same side.”

“Pretty much.” Malcolm confirmed, “be careful. A lot of Therans can be like that.”

Something about that rhetoric didn’t sit well with Tallstar so she stared them both down. “I have confidence that Catra will keep her promise.” That had them both looking at her in shock. “But I am also realistic in noticing that with the serious injuries their very small group took on, there’s no way they are fighting fit and able to carry through. Maybe they aren’t unreliable. Maybe they’re just people trying to recover and survive like anyone else?”

She spun her chair around almost defiantly and began wheeling away.

“Have a good evening, gentlemen.”

*

Catra’s ears twitched as she slowly woke up. The first thing she was aware of was warmth, like something was beneath her cheek. Then she realized it was someone’s thigh. Then she noticed a scent, like wood and mint, so much like Lybica.

No. She knew this smell. It was Mal’s.

Then she became aware of the soft humming. She turned her head into the feeling of nails lightly scratching her head. She mumbled incoherently as she pieced together the last few hours. She had fought with Adora and then…

She had come to Mal’s room finding her seemingly more peaceful than ever. Someone had decided their red jacket would have been warmer than just the blanket alone. Catra had found the sight peculiar when she found Mal tucked in like that with a gentle smile on her face. Catra froze when she saw the red jacket at first, and noticed long blonde hair on it’s back. Had Adora finally gotten over herself and did something nice?

Then she got a good whiff of the scent on it. Adam. Huh. Interesting.

At that point, Catra had sat with Mal for a few hours, then everything was hazy. She must have fallen asleep. Catra turned her head into the hand that had drifted to her cheek. Suddenly she came to a strange awareness of scars that rubbed roughly on her skin. Her eyes fluttered open and she got to see a sight she wasn’t quite expecting. It was indeed a hand, but a badly damaged one. The scars were years old, that she could tell, but it was unsettling: only the thumb and index was intact. The middle finger was missing a third of it, the ring finger was missing two thirds making it only a stub. The pinky was completely missing. Catra gasped and sat up quickly. 

“I’m so sorry!”

Catra found Mal looking at her, eyes mismatched just like hers. That hand -- Mal’s right hand, Catra quickly realized, was now clasped by her chest. Her left was covering her right as if to protect it, but Catra realized by how Mal wouldn’t look at her that it was more to keep Catra from staring. There was a brief moment where Mal’s eyes went to Catra and then darted away. She stuffed her right hand under her thin blanket.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.” Mal said after considerable time.  
“It’s okay…” Catra trailed off then decided to go for it, “Aunt De’va.”

Mal made a strange sound, somewhere between a laugh, a gasp, and then it devolved into a series of coughing. Catra sprung to her feet and looked about. She found water by the bedside and poured some, and helped Mal sit up a bit more so she could sip at it. Eventually the coughing subsided and Mal was catching her breath.

“There we go.” Catra smiled at her. “Should I get the doctors?”  
Mal shook her head. “Not now.” Her right hand quickly disappeared under the blanket again.  
“Are you sure?”

“I am.” Mal’s eyes fluttered close. “The moment news spreads about me being awake, things are going to get very busy. I’d like to have a moment of quiet with just you, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay.” Catra agreed. “Okay.” She echoed. She watched as Mal opened her eyes and smiled at her, a soft, gentle expression. She struggled to shift herself over to the right, and with her left hand, she patted the space she made beside her. Catra hesitated, then quietly climbed up on the bed. Mal looped her arm around Catra and pulled her closer, purring. Melog jumped onto the bed across both of their legs and planted herself there, paws crossed and purred too. It startled them, but Mal looked to Catra and they both sort of just laughed at the sight.

“It’s fine, leave her be, she’s not heavy.” Mal allowed. “How are you doing?” Mal asked softly.  
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You’re the one who got the crap beaten out of her.”  
“I lost control of myself.” Mal admitted, “Rookie mistake. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“What makes you so sure?” Catra asked her. Mal sighed, leaning more into the pillows, yet guiding Catra’s head to her shoulder.

“Because, you could say I had a lot of time to…” her eyes narrowed, “have a little discussion with myself. I realized there is a lot that I have now in my life. Things that weren’t there before. You. Tabby. The boys.” Mal’s nose wrinkled, but she smiled. “I can’t afford to be careless. I need to come home, after all, right?” She rubbed Catra’s shoulder. “How are you doing?”

Catra opened her mouth, then closed it, nuzzling against Mal’s collarbone. She heard Mal gasp and hiss with pain but when she tried to pull away, Mal held her there, shaking her head.

“But I’m hurting you.”  
“It’s fine. It’s just fine. I want to feel this. Relax, Cat.”

“Aunt De’va~” Mal cut her off with a sound that almost sounded like a sob, pressing her face into Catra’s hair so that Catra couldn’t see her.

“Don’t. Please.” Mal’s voice shook a little. “I know you mean well, and it’s actually kind of cute and rather touching that you thought to call me that but,” she sighed, “but I like being “Mal” so much. I will be nothing but ‘De’va’ to so many people soon. Maybe it’s selfish, but I don’t want that with you, Tabby, Tomas and Moggie. I just want to be Mal to you guys. Always.”

“Okay Mal.”  
“Thank you.”

They sat like that for what was longer than a few moments. Catra pushed back that nagging doubt that she had from her conversation with Lybica. Instead she reached into her pocket and pulled away just slightly to show Mal what she retrieved.

“My Collar.” Mal touched her neck gently as if feeling for the missing item.  
“Tab gave it to you for your anniversary, right?”

“That dolt. They actually told you that story?” A pause. “Wait. You know we’re married?”  
Catra huffed. “You were keeping that from me!?”  
“No. We’re just not the overly touchy feely type, especially if one of us is feeling uncomfortable.”  
“You felt uncomfortable?” Catra snorted at that.

“You made me -- no, it’s more fair to say the situation made me uncomfortable. I was a little frigid with Tab for a while so we haven’t been as affectionate, by our standards that is.” 

“That’s not really fair to them.”

“I know, and Tabby really does have the patience of a fucking saint.” There was pride in Mal’s voice as she declared that. “I got over myself pretty quickly, well in some ways. I actually slept in their room like, two nights after you showed up?” That morning when Mal gave her the tea.

“Right. Thirsty.” Catra echoed. Mal snorted. It was clear by the glow of her skin, she blushed.

“Anyways,” Mal laughed, “despite many and numerous hints, you weren’t picking up on it. Heck, we both swore you would have noticed how Tab always seemed to have my jacket, but not even that.” Mal reached for the collar with her right hand without thinking, and quickly retreated beneath the cover when Catra’s eyes fell on it. She tried to play it off but it was clear Catra’s staring made her uncomfortable. “We actually started taking bets with the guys about how long it would take before you figured it out and who you would confront about it first.”

“Gee. Thanks.” Catra poked her collarbone at that. “Wait. You had a betting pool on this?”  
“Uh-huh, sure did, and thanks to you, I owe Tabby twenty, and the guys owe me sixty each.”  
“You’re shitting me, right?” Catra glowered.  
“Mmm. Cussing at me for this revelation. Shit. Guess technically Tom gets fifteen now.”  
“Mal!”

Mal bubbled over with laughter and Catra found herself shaking her head before she too started to giggle, then join in with the laughter. When it was out of their system, Catra gestured at Mal’s right hand. She tensed.

“Let me put the Collar back on, would you? It’s probably hard with that hand of yours.”  
“I can figure it out just fine.” Mal waved her off. “My hand’s been like this for a long time.”  
“How long?” Catra asked softly. Mal held her gaze before it dropped to her lap.

“Before my leg got shattered. Running away isn’t very acceptable in the Dens,” Mal gave Catra a wicked, mischievous smirk, “and neither is biting off a patron’s body parts.”

“Now that sounds hardcore.”  
“You should have seen the guy.” Mal laughed, “screamed like a banshee, cried like a baby.”  
“I bet.” Catra reached over and grabbed the collar, “I’m sure you’ve got it, but let me help.”

“They had to take off all of my prosthetics.” Mal finally reached up and passed the collar. “And the spinal implants, most likely. I was electrocuted, and a lot of that is metal. It would have left some nasty burns they needed to treat.”

“Yet I don’t see a scar on you.”  
“Good medicine, and I always healed well since I became an adult.”  
“I knew about your leg ages ago, but how come I didn’t notice your hand?”

“Long sleeves and gloves. They hid the partial hand prosthetic, and the hidden knife in it.” 

“It makes sense. You don’t have a full set of claws on both hands, and having an extra weapon close by at any given time must be reassuring.” Catra kneeled on the bed and angled herself awkwardly to buckle up the choker, and was surprised when she found Mal with two gold eyes again, those markings on her cheek and forehead, the light patch on her chest all disappeared.

“Don’t worry, we remove all of our weapons before Tab and I get a little too frisky..” Mal’s lips twisted into a smile as she winked at the surprised looking Catra who now flushed. “Missed the gold? I put the spell on the Collar itself.”

“Are you going to keep it like that?”

“Probably not, I don’t know.” Mal admitted. “Everyone is going to know I’m De’va now. There’s no reason to hide it anymore. In fact, we were about to go on the offensive soon anyways. Might as well have myself get used to looking how I should.” She looped fingers through the hoop.

“Well, for what it’s worth, you don’t look half bad with heterochromatic eyes.”  
“Oh, look at you, busting out the big words!”  
“You could never look as good as I do though.” Catra snickered.  
“And the ego.” Mal rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, I think I like you better this way. With the gold eyes, I mean.” Catra admitted. “It just screams more ‘Mal’ than ‘De’va’. What can I say? I’m biased.” She flinched when Mal grabbed Catra’s hand with her scarred right hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I think I like me better this way too.” Catra was getting the sense that Mal meant more than just her appearance, but she nodded in agreement, settling in beside Mal again. They fell back into a comfortable silence, their tails comfortably curled and twitching now and then.

“Thank you for letting me meet my Mother.”  
“Might as well use my abilities for something my loved ones appreciate, right?”  
Catra flushed at that term. Loved ones. “Do you want to know what she told me?”

“No.” Mal shook her head. “Keep that between you and your Mom. There were things your Grandmother told me growing up that she never told anyone else in the Universe.” Mal hummed at that thought. “You deserve to have something like that with your own Mom.”

“Thanks Mal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. I did a Chapter bump. She-Ra help us all. This should be the last chapter bump or I will go insane. :)
> 
> Catra finding out that the crew were taking bets to see how long her cluelessness on Tab and Mal being a thing was too hard to pass up.
> 
> Yes. It was about time for Mal to start explaining some of the whole thing about the "Demon Pact" she made, and the first thing she says is vague as shit (it's Mal) but really starts to hit on a huge theme with her and to some degree the Therans as a people in general: her natural duality, or really the duality that all of us have. She's aware of it within herself, so it only makes sense that she recognizes it in their own deity.
> 
> The fact that this dovetails nicely with Angella showing up and Mizar being brought in is intentional.
> 
> The real question still is: what did she trade for whatever it was she wished for? Both Lybica and Mal admit that Mal's life was very different than it was 11 years ago. Lybica is practically flagging that she's convinced Mal would have chosen differently if 17 year old almost dying her knew what life looked like for her at 28. Mal is also hinting at this too saying she needs to be careful now when fighting because she has to make sure she comes home. If you’re getting a bad feeling, you’ve got good reason.
> 
> Yes, a little hint of Adam/De'va|Mal there for you and a curious comment coming from Adam about him wanting a strong friendship with Tab. (I also added a tiny bit more A/D|M back in chapter nine). I'm going somewhere with this. :) I wrote a juicy scene for those two I really liked a few chapters from now, and in order for it to land right, I had to plant certain seeds here to make certain connections.
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “How did you know it was me?” Adora stalled for time. De’va now sighed with annoyance.  
> “I always knew it would be. I know things like that.”  
> “Is that a part of your power? The one that helps you to manipulate situations?”
> 
> There was a long pause where De’va stared at Adora blankly. At first Adora was wondering if she zoned out but then her lips twitched into a smile and that smile turned into a laugh.
> 
> “Wait, you’re actually serious?” Her laugh was borderline hysterical. “By Lynx, who the hell is filling your head with stupidity like that?” She rasped, wiping at her eyes.
> 
> “It’s just…” Adora paused, “something I heard about you.”  
> “From who?”  
> “The First Ones on this ship. I asked them to tell me about you.”


	21. “That doesn’t make me a Princess.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora decides it is time her and Mal have a long and much overdue chat.  
> Catra finds a frazzled Mog and a depressed Tab are slowly crawling out of their respective holes.  
> Mal and Adam have a tender moment interrupted by Catra. Catra starts getting suspicious when Mal lies.  
> Tallstar is convinced she's playing a different game than the rest, and that she's winning. Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna lie. I indulged my interest in biomechanics with the Mog and Tallstar bit. I hope you find it more fascinating than technical. 
> 
> This chapter was about 1.75 times as long and then was cut in two. A 40+ page chapter seems a little too long. To some degree 21 and 22 are operating as one cohesive thought, so I want to update soon so you can have those pieces fit together. Aiming for another update on the weekend so cheer me on folks! 
> 
> As always, feel free to leave kudos and comments as they are encouragement for me. I appreciate them all and as I always do, if you comment I'll be sure to reply. :)

Hey Adora…

I understand you’ve been angry for quite a while, but you crossed a line.

Why did you do it?   
I don’t care if you think this was for Glimmer’s sake or mine. Nobody asked you to play hero.

How could you?

Catra.

*

Adora only found the courage to leave Glimmer’s bedside the third night she had heard that the Princess of Panthera, Princess De’va D’Riluth had finally awakened. She had pulled herself from her curled up spot on the edge of Glimmer’s bed late at night. So late she had to keep herself from yawning loudly and awakening the young Queen.

As quietly as she could, she transformed the Sword of Protection into a bracer and tucked Glimmer in carefully. She pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and blinked when she heard snoring in the room. She smiled when she saw the messy curly hair. Bow was sitting up at an uncomfortable angle, his hand holding Glimmer’s as they both slept. Well, as Glimmer slept that was -- Bow was beginning to stir.

“Wh-hwa,” Bow yawned and Adora shushed him as quietly as she could, “you up already?”  
“I’ll be back. Don’t worry.”  
“Are you okay Adora?”

“Yeah, I just really have to pee.” She flushed at the excuse. “I’ll be right back. Go back to sleep Bow, you’re still healing.” He was already drifting off when she said those words. She smiled and shook her head as she slipped out of the room and took a breath of air in the all too quiet corridor. One of the people on patrol, what was his name, Duncan, greeted her.

“Oh! Princess Adora! How are you tonight?”  
“Quite well, thank you. I appreciate everyone’s hospitality here.”  
“Think nothing of it, you are the sister of our future King after all.”

“Yeah…” Adora forced a smile at that, “Still getting used to that. Did he really have to announce that to, well,” Adora laughed nervously, “everyone?”

“We were all a bit skeptical when His Highness, Crown Prince Adam came back on board and declared he found you, but you are She-Ra just like he’s He-Man,” Duncan pointed out adamantly, “only Eternians can be She-Ra. That’s how the Heart of Etheria was made.”

Adora frowned at that news. “That doesn’t make me a Princess.”  
“Maybe not,” Duncan placated, “but your blood does.”  
Adora rubbed her arm. “The test?” Duncan nodded. “All that showed is that we’re related.”  
“And if Prince Adam is a Prince, that means you’re the Princess.” Duncan stated, matter of fact.  
“Says who?” Adora’s eyes narrowed.  
He looked taken aback at that. “These things take time I guess. Did you need something?”

Adora shook her head. “No, I just needed to stretch my legs and think a little.” She began heading in the opposite direction, and then paused when Duncan didn’t move.

“Is something bothering you, Princess?”

“Not really, but I did have a question…” his silence told her he was waiting, “do you know if the Theran Tabby Manx has come around?”

“No.” Duncan brushed his fingers over his mustache, “It would seem even the rare times they came to the Medical Deck has stopped since Princess De’va woke up.”

Adora wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, so she didn’t respond. “What about Catra?”

“She went back to Purrsia about an hour or so ago.”  
“I see.”  
“Is Captain Tabby bothering you, Princess?”  
“Only in the sense that nothing’s been done about what they did to my friend, Glimmer.”

Duncan closed the distance between them and bowed low. “Princess, you only need to give the order, and we will send some of our men to bring Captain Tabby Manx into our custody.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Adora smiled, uncomfortable at the proposal, “we should at least try to talk first, right?”

“If that’s your decision, Princess, but I have overheard you speak about this issue many times and so have many others on board StarShip Eternia. It seems it’s deeply bothering you. In fact many Eternians here have heard how upset you are and worry that something must be done.”

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t.” Adora admitted, flushing. Had she really spoken about it so often?

“It is within your authority to do something about it, if you so desire. As they are under our protection, the Therans with us must obey Eternian law. If you determine they have broken our laws, that’s reason enough to take action if you so wish to.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. For now, I’ll just take a walk. Thank you Duncan.”  
“My pleasure, Princess.”

Adora walked away from him for several paces before she finally let herself release the tension and the breath she had been holding. She glanced over her shoulder, and convinced she wasn’t being followed, she made a turn, left, down the corridor. Past Bow’s room and to another hallway. She glanced, left, right, and seeing no sign of anyone with those distinctive eyes or tail, she slipped into a quiet room.

De’va. Mal. De’va. Whatever. She looked like Catra. Far more than Tabby did, Adora realized. Tabby only had a passing resemblance -- the courtesy of being the same race as her dear friend. It was the resemblance you noticed of surface things like a shared shade of skin, or in a Theran’s case having those large, cat-like ears. However, De’va’s resemblance was more familial in its nature. Like Angella and Glimmer’s eyes and hair colour. Her and Adam’s build and the shape of their nose. Bow being as barrel chested as George, with the same sort of voice as Lance. In Catra and De’va’s case, besides their eyes she heard -- It was the Princess’ facial features. She had the same shape to her face as Catra, but her jawline was sharper, her eyes a little deeper, her cheeks had little softness to them -- as if life and time had made De’va’s face a little gaunt, but not so much that you couldn’t tell she was still a relatively young Theran. De’va’s eyebrows were the same shape, her hairline probably the same -- her bangs fell across her face the way Catra’s did as a child before she cut them off. De’va’s slight smile in her sleep reminded Adora so much of Catra when she was finally at peace and comfortable that it was uncanny. Adora stood at the doorway, listening to the soft beeps of the monitor, the rhythmic nature of De’va’s breathing.

Adora stepped in. De’va’s brow furrowed. Adora froze. De’va settled. Adora exhaled with relief. 

“Are you going to stand there and watch me for the rest of the night, Princess Adora?” De’va didn’t even open her eyes when she spoke. Adora nearly screamed, but if she did, everything she did this for would be a bust. De’va slowly reached for the controls at the side of her bed and shifted herself into a seated position. Her eyes were gold. Adora realized whoever told her otherwise may have been wrong. “The fact that you would is rather flattering, but you’re really not my type. Sorry.”

“You are Princess De’va, right?”

“Yes.” De’va yawned loudly. Her eyes drooped, and she sighed, running a hand with missing fingers through her bangs to pull them out of her face. Adora tried not to flinch at the scarred hand. If De’va noticed her repulsion, she hid it well with her raised eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

“I thought your eyes were like Catra’s.”  
“Naturally.” Came a droll answer. She gestured to her neck at her collar. “Appearance spell.”  
“Oh.”

“Again, Princess Adora, I don’t mean to be rude, but the doctors made it clear that if I want to be walking in a reasonable time, I ought to be resting.” De’va’s voice was devoid of any sort of tone, except maybe boredom. “Can I help you with something?” De’va repeated. “Clearly you didn’t wake me up in the dead of night for no reason, did you?”

“How did you know it was me?” Adora stalled for time. De’va now sighed with annoyance.  
“Your scent.” A sigh, “and I guess I always knew it would be. I know things like that.”  
“Is that a part of your power? The one that helps you to manipulate others?”

There was a long pause where De’va stared at Adora blankly. At first Adora was wondering if she zoned out but then her lips twitched into a smile and that smile turned into a laugh.

“Wait, you’re serious?” Her laugh was borderline hysterical. “By Lynx, who the hell is filling your head with stupidity like that?” She rasped, wiping at her eyes.

“It’s just…” Adora paused, “something I heard about you.”  
“From who?”  
“The First Ones on this ship. I asked them to tell me about you.”

“So you were asking about me, were you?” De’va turned her right hand -- the one missing a pinky and parts of other fingers and examined both claws and scars. “And you didn’t think to come straight to the source? Or better yet, if I’m too intimidating: Catra?” there was a pause and De’va made a face, something between disgust and annoyance. “Ah. So it is this one. Great.”

“Excuse me?”  
“Why are you here, Princess Adora?” De’va now sounded annoyed.  
“Adora is just fine, thank you.”  
“Likewise. Well. It’s late. I’m tired. Can we get to the point?”

“Did you use your powers on Catra?”

“I’m beginning to understand why in this version of events I struggle not to lose my shit.” De’va gave a very forced smile and looked at Adora. “I have a familiar named Claudine. She can’t invade people’s minds, for the record. She is just an extension of myself, much like Melog is for Catra, that is a power of Cait Sith. My fire is not. I get that from the Twilight Topaz -- a neat little perk only I managed for some reason, even though it’s shattered now.” 

“It’s because you can connect to it.” Adora filled in for her. “So you’re like an Elemental Princess from Etheria?” Adora put together. “How are you able to access Etheria’s magic from here?”

“Huh. Thanks.” De’va hummed at that new piece of information. “The Twilight Topaz was supposed to be part of something called the Heart of Etheria Project like, a thousand years or so ago.” De’va nodded. “It’s shattered and defunct now, but it still holds a bit of magic, and a strong bond to its many parts. Enough to stabilize a Theran’s shifting abilities, at least.” De’va licked her lips. “I’m sure much of it is still on Etheria itself. So far I’ve only collected about a thirteenth of the original gem? The Royal vaults supposedly have more, and a few stray shards ended up in the hands of other Therans -- thieves most likely, or others not knowing its worth.”

“So your people are originally from that moon by Etheria?”

“We were the Magicats once, yes.” De’va confirmed. “We have our own sorcery, and nowhere in that magic tradition is there a spell to control people’s minds -- before you have the audacity to ask. Is it hard to believe that Catra could just choose to be somewhere without your input?” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” That had Adora’s back up. She didn’t like the implication.

“Possessiveness and protectiveness can look terrifyingly similar.” De’va straightened up, sitting as tall as she could but Adora could swear she saw pain flash on the Theran’s face. 

“It’s not like her.” Adora confirmed. “Catra doesn’t care about sides or causes. She~”  
“Cares about you.” De’va’s expression was blank.  
“That’s not what I was going to say.” Adora felt rattled. “You weren’t on Etheria you~”  
“Didn’t hear her say that anything was manageable as long as it was with you.”

“There’s no way you'd know that unless Catra told you.” Adora swallowed slowly.  
“She didn’t. I just knew you were about to say it.”  
“So it is true?”  
“You heard?” De’va tilted her head, “That I can ‘see’ the future, right?”  
“Something like that.”  
“Apparently I use what I see to my advantage?”  
Adora couldn’t help but look away. “That’s the rumour.”

“Really that’s just a misunderstanding.” De’va corrected, gesturing with her scarred hand. “I see several versions of events in piecemeal, mostly centered around my role in them. If I’m not involved, I usually see nothing.” Adora looked at her dead in the eyes, trying to look for any hint that she could be lying, but found none. 

“I don’t understand,” Adora mumbled, “so everything you see, it’s just incomplete?

“I don’t know the time or place and have to put that together from what I recognize. I gain context from what I hear myself saying or the emotions I felt. Sometimes I get pieces of what people say to me. Hardly ‘seeing the future’ in the sense that most people understand.” Adora wasn’t sure if she felt relief or embarrassment at assuming something like that.

“So you aren’t manipulating people?” Adora asked for confirmation.  
“Isn’t every discussion a plea for someone to see things our way?” De’va challenged.  
“I meant are you messing with Catra’s head?”  
“What you really mean to ask is did I actually get Catra to trust me?”

Adora’s expression hardened. “I know what I asked. You're very good at reading people and that ability of yours must make it easy to take advantage of someone when they’re vulnerable.”

“Manipulation is a rather loaded word.” De’va rejected the term. “I do all I can for the most desirable outcome. So in that sense, the rumour is partially correct, but I don’t think I’m wrong.”

That didn’t sit well with Adora. “So you knew we were going to have this talk tonight from the start? Were you already awake then? Was that why you weren’t even surprised?”

“Of course.” De’va propped her right leg up and her arm on it, leaning her head against it. “I know most of this conversation by heart now. I’d be lying if I said I was looking forward to it.”

Adora sighed. Well at least that tore off the bandage. “I have a request.” De’va’s expression drew together, especially her eyebrows. It wasn’t a look of thoughtfulness but quiet fury.

“I don’t take demands.” Her voice was light. “Adora. I am not your subject. You’re my equal, and while we’re on the topic of subjects -- Princess Adora, please stop bad mouthing my people to every single Eternian who will listen to your bitching.” Adora flinched.

“People asked me what was wrong when they saw I was stressed out about Glimmer! I wasn’t going to lie to them.” Adora nearly closed the gap between them. De’va didn’t even flinch, she merely looked up at Adora Towering over her.

“Everytime you say poorly thought out things about the Theran people, those who harbour ill towards us feel vindicated and those who stood on the fence feel they need to take the opinion of their Princess into close consideration.” De’va sighed. “You’re making everything worse.”

“Stop changing the subject!” Adora felt the tension in her jaw. “So what, I’m not allowed to vent? If you have a problem with it, then take care of the problem that started all of this mess!”

“Ah.” De’va voiced so quietly, breathy, “so that’s what this is all about.”  
“What is that supposed to mean?”  
“What we see in the mirror is often the most frightening.”

Adora’s hands curled into fists. She leaned over De’va so that they made direct eye contact. The Princess of Panthera stared back, eyes dull, face carefully constructed into a neutral, unreadable expression. Adora didn’t like it. She felt like she was staring at a blank paper.

“How about you stop playing your cryptic mind games?” Adora threw back. “I knew someone like you who did that. Shadow Weaver told half truths all the time, and twisted it in a way that made you believe whatever she wanted you to. I’m not going to fall for it again.”

“Fine. Tabby Manx.” De’va said very softly. Her eyes fluttered. “Is a person. Not a problem.”  
“I know that, so tell me how you plan to address the fact that they nearly killed Glimmer?”  
“That is out of your jurisdiction, and frankly none of your business.” De’va frowned.  
“So you’re going to do nothing about it? How is that fair to Glimmer?” Adora asked.  
“Is this still really about your friend Glimmer?” De’va asked. “Or about Catra for that matter?”  
“Of course it is!” Adora responded immediately. “Someone like Tabby is a danger to everyone.”  
“You want eye for an eye?” De’va sighed, “I’ll keep that in mind as Adam and I sort things out.”  
“I’m not looking to punish them. They need to be accountable. They need to--” 

“Pay. You want Tabby Manx to pay.” De’va cut her off. “For the first time in your life you met someone who could have very well taken away a person you cared about. No, that’s not right at all, is it?” De’va corrected. “It’s not the first time your loved ones are in danger, what is the first time is that the person who did it is so...mundanely normal.”

“What’s so normal about someone like Tabby?” Adora challenged.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would be offended you were referring to something else.” De’va frowned, then shook her head. “Nevermind. The point is, your friend was in danger at the hands of someone you couldn’t tell yourself was beyond redemption — like Horde Prime — but just another person trying to do something noble. Just like you. They were acting for the sake of someone they loved. An average person who just happens to remind you of yourself.” De’va paused, staring her down. “That’s terrifying, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you think you’re getting at,” Adora kept her voice quiet, “but I think you’re well on your way to being irredeemable if you can kill like that, like life has no value to it.”

“Look, if you keep on as you are, you are going to make things messy for both me and Adam to handle, jeopardizing far more than just Tabby’s relationships here. We’re talking about an entire alliance between Kingdoms forged over the last nearly twelve years. Take my advice as your equal,” a pause, “and as someone who will be outranking you very shortly, Princess.”

“Catra hasn’t been herself.” Adora tried instead, ignoring De’va’s warning look. She took De’va’s silence as a sort of go ahead despite knowing better. “And I think it has to do with your crew.”

“People change all the time.” De’va’s eyes flashed open, the gold startling Adora when they caught the limited light in the room, reflecting it back at her. “I don’t see how that’s a problem.”

“It’s a problem when it’s a change for the worse.”  
“Adapt or die. That’s what you do out here. Morality has no place in survival.”

“I’m not okay with you making my best friend into some sort of -- of,” Adora found herself floundering at the words. Those golden eyes -- the pupils contracted to slits.

“Go on.” Adora knew for sure De’va was growling. “Say it. Just like all the others.”

“Catra’s nothing like you.” Adora veered instead. She saw the tension disappear from De’va’s body again, but that smile was all forced and false teeth. “She’s gentle, and kind. She’s scared a lot, and she can be a little difficult, but she has a good heart. She isn’t bloodthirsty. She would never shoot someone on her side just because they got in her way.”

“She isn’t a wild animal like the rest of us Therans you mean.” De’va’s smile was fanged.   
“That’s not what I’m saying.”  
“It’s what you’re thinking, Adora.” De’va batted back. “Unclouth. Barbaric. Savage! Animalistic!”  
“Look, you and Catra are from very different worlds, and she deserves to go home.”  
“Adora, I never held her back, not even once! Quite the opposite actually. I wanted her to leave.”

Adora glared. De’va’s eyes were still blown wide, the pupils tiny. Like a tiger on the verge of pouncing. Adora swallowed and felt a lump in the back of her throat.

“You wanted her to leave?” Adora echoed. “And now?”  
“If I did something to hurt my niece, or offend her, I expect her to come and tell me directly.”  
“Maybe she doesn’t know you’re hurting her?” Adora questioned quietly.   
“Maybe you’re just projecting?” De’va threw back.

“Catra trusted Shadow Weaver long after she knew better because she gave Catra a false sense of validation.” Adora glared at De’va, “I can’t rule out that isn’t happening now.”

“So you, an outsider who knows nothing about me, nothing about my culture, nothing about my people,” De’va leaned forward. In the dim light Adora could see the rigid line of what had to be an uncomfortable brace along her back, “thinks she can tell me my relationships are toxic?”

“What I can tell you is that Catra is a good person deep down, but she gets influenced in bad ways by the wrong people, especially if they pretend to care.”

“You think I’m pretending?” De’va’s voice was quiet, “and that my spouse and I are monsters?”  
“That’s not what I’m saying!”

“Princess Adora,” the way De’va said that name felt like nails on a chalkboard. Adora felt the hair on her neck stand up, “You are the sister of one of my dearest friends, and someone very near and dear to my niece. I am trying so,” De’va drew out the word, “so very hard to like you.”

“I don’t recall doing anything to insult or hurt you.” Adora pointed out.

“This entire conversation has been nothing but insulting!” De’va straightened up with a low, keening hiss. “Tabby Manx has more years on a battlefield than most of your little friends can even remember, yet you can’t take orders from a veterean in an unknown terrain? You must be suicidal or just flat out stupid. Either way, other people will pay dearly for your mistakes!”

“I don’t think someone who kills people without hesitation is someone worthy of being followed.”

De’va flopped back into her pillows, her lips in a grimacing smile, her laugh strained as she covered her face. “Why? Are they too savage for you? Monstrous?”

“Stop putting words in my mouth!” Adora warned. “Killing people is just not how I want to do things.” Adora insisted. “It’s not how anyone should ever do things! It should be avoided!” 

“It’s survival. If you don’t choose yourself, you die. Get that in your head.”  
“Until now, it wasn’t how Catra would ever consider how to do things, either. Until you.” 

It was quick. She saw the shadows of the movement and felt the shift of wind more than she actually saw the object that flew in the direction of her head. The throw was sloppy. There was no serious intention, but it was aimed at Adora’s head all the same. She stepped to the side and watched as glass and water smashed on the tiles behind her.

“Get out of my room.” De’va slumped back in her bed again.  
“Stay away from Catra, or else.” Adora warned.  
“Or else what?” There was an indistinguishable growl there. “Are you actually threatening me?”  
“People like you? Like Tabby?” Adora noted, “De’va, you guys can kill like it means nothing.”  
“Don’t assume you know what goes through anyone’s mind when taking a life!” De’va warned.

“They didn’t even hesitate to shoot those guards!” Adora noted, “I was there. I wonder if they even spared a second when they turned that gun on Glimmer. Catra wouldn’t do that. At least the Catra I’ve always known.” Adora clarified. 

“You need to learn your place.” De’va’s eyes fluttered shut again.

“Sure, Catra gets angry sometimes, but she would never go as far as Tab.” Adora continued, unable to be dissuaded from her argument. “She has more integrity than that. She would have found a way to not hurt Glimmer. The last thing I want to see is for her to lose that integrity because of you.” De’va inhaled sharply, but held her breath. Adora moved a few steps back.

“No one stays innocent forever.” De’va’s voice was dull. “I’m sorry, but life is messy, get over it.”   
“Maybe you’re right.” Adora agreed. “That doesn’t mean she has to become just like you.”  
De’va shifted, hissing as if in pain, her eyes opening again. “You really need to leave now.”

“Okay,” Adora breathed, “you’re right. This is not just about Glimmer, and it’s not just about Catra. It’s not just because I think Tab should have to own up for what they did -- this is about you.” Her eyes met De’va’s. “I want to believe that there’s something good in you. I really do. But there’s something about you. Something that tells me you aren’t saying everything. I don’t get your relationship with Catra, and I don’t trust it. I can’t, because I don’t trust you.”

“Then that’s your problem.” De’va scoffed.

“No, it isn’t. I don’t believe you have her best interests at heart. I think you only have your own, and if your spouse is anything to measure the standard of what your actions might be in the future,” Adora gritted her teeth when she noticed De’va’s rumbling growl, “I’m scared to know what you’ll do with Catra should the day come that she’s in your way.”

“I really wanted to like you.” Those words caught Adora by surprise. They were spoken so softly, almost pleadingly. Those golden eyes disappeared in the darkness. A blur of movement in the darkness. Adora turned the bracer back into a sword. It bit into the flesh of a shoulder. Adora yelled in surprise as a strong arm pinned her to a wall. There was a crash of monitors being thrown to the ground, then a loud alarm for the disconnected wires. The commotion seemed to catch the attention of others on the ship and Adora could hear footfalls rushing in their direction.

“I think you just proved my point.” Adora looked at her crossly.

“You think I care if you believe I’m a monster, little girl?” De’va bellowed, “Better a monster than a two-faced childish asshole who can’t sort her damn feelings out and makes it my problem!”

“Maybe you’re the one projecting!”

Adora let instinct take over. De’va was easy to topple, and with a bit of shame, she quickly realized why: the moment her right leg was swept from under her, she couldn’t recover. She still had no left prosthetic on, and she went down like a stack of bricks. The sound she made, landing flat on her back was gut wrenching. It was halfway between a scream and a sob.

The brief silence between them -- Adora breathing hard and De’va quietly whimpering on the floor, was broken when the first two people arrived. Two of perhaps the worst people to do so. Adam and Teela. The redhead immediately turned on the lights to get a better visual and Adora squinted at the harsh addition of light. De’va managed to throw her arm over her eyes and made a hiss. Adam stood looking at the both of them, his eyes wide. Then he looked to the sword of protection and the blood that dripped from it.

“Adora, you should go.” Adam’s voice was cold.  
“Look, Adam, it’s not what you think~”

“What is it then?” He spat. “You were attacking a defenceless woman! I don’t see how else I’m supposed to magically interpret this situation!” His eyes darted to Teela who was kneeling on the floor beside De’va who hadn’t so much as moved, simply shivering on the ground.

“She lunged at me first!” Adora tried to defend but she knew it sounded ridiculous the moment she said it. Adam’s eyes narrowed. Her cheeks reddened.

“You’re in her hospital room. With the freaking Sword of Protection in your hand and there’s blood on it. I can tell by your white shirt that it sure as hell isn’t yours!” Adora shrank backwards as Adam’s voice rose with each piece of incriminating evidence of the scene he found. “She doesn’t even have any of her prosthetics on! She can’t even walk right now!”

“We had an argument and we both got out of hand.”  
“Get out Adora.” She didn’t bother to argue further.

As she left, she watched her brother scoop De’va into his arms carefully, like he was holding a prized possession. De’va leaned into him, her head resting against his shoulder. One wouldn’t be considered crazy, in a moment like this, to think there was something more there.

*

Catra felt her alarm rang too early sometimes. She slapped her hand around to find the off button before groaning and lightly kicking her feet to convince Melog to do more than roll over groggily and stay planted on her feet. Eventually, Melog complied and Catra proceeded to drag herself out of bed. After washing her face and brushing her hair out, she climbed up the stairs to pad off to the kitchen. Today was an odd day. Entrapta was out of the workshop, and the reason became apparent when Catra saw her purple head bowed over a set of drawings and shoving them over to a yawning Mog.

“How about making these alterations?”

“Eh? Hmm, maybe.” He sounded like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, and he rubbed his stomach periodically like it was paining him. “But if the new joint is at that angle, Entrapta, how well would it bear extreme loading?”

“What do you mean?”

“Theran legs are pretty darn strong. We can leap twenty feet vertically -- easily, while also jumping horizontally by more than ten feet at the same time.” He noted, “the take off would probably be fine, but this edit to the design has me concerned about the landing forces.”

“Because there’s a lot more force coming back down?” Entrapta extrapolated.

“Exactly, and so your design edits have me worried the fail point would be this new knee, sort of like this...” he reached for the pencil and Entrapta handed it over to him without looking at him. It stabbed his wrist and Mog suddenly rushed to his feet, his single eye wide, his lips turned up into a snarl as he bared his fangs, his chest heaving. Entrapta looked up at his towering form uneasily, too scared to move. 

“Uh, Moggie? I-I’me sorry!”

“Mog!” Catra called out. “Mog!” She tried again, when he began leaning over Entrapta who slowly leaned backwards until she was on the ground, and flattening herself to it. Catra rushed over to him, as Melog ran to Entrapta, putting herself between Entrapta and Mog. When Catra reached Mog, she tugged lightly on his tail. He spun around and Catra leaned out of the reach of his claws and hissed at him. Finally he focused, his tail flopping low between his legs before he backed up, over into the far corner of the kitchen, up on the counter.

Entrapta straightened up, and smiled bright as day, petting Melog. “Hi Catra!”  
“Hey!” Catra gave her a smile back. “You alright?”  
“Oh I’m great!” Entrapta assured, “Mog might not be though.”

“Sorry Entrapta…” Mog murmured from his new corner, tucking his head against his knees.

“I know you didn’t mean it.” Entrapta assured him, then went up to him. He flinched back and she lightly bopped his nose. “So try not to do it again?” He looked thoroughly scolded, his ears folding against his head.

“Sorry.” Mog replied dejectedly. “I got no sleep last night. Nightmares.”  
Entrapta frowned at that, not sure what to say. “Well...don’t blame yourself.”  
“Thanks.” He ducked his head.  
“Just get more rest and try to remember where you are now. You’re totally safe!”  
Mog’s cheeks were now glowing. “Right. I’m. Safe.” He exhaled shakily.  
“Now I’m going to check on Wordak!” She declared.

Entrapta rushed off, then her hair caught on the edges of the doorway, dragging her back in. She paused at the door, peeking back in and looking at them both. “Has...your nurse come by?”

“No, why?”  
“So we can’t have Wordak in the workshop with me then?”  
Mog frowned at that, but hugged his legs tighter to him. “You know I don’t like him around.”  
“Yes!” Entrapta informed. “That’s why I let him out when you’re not around, Moggie.”  
Moggie sighed. “Prince Adam said to keep him as low key as possible for now.”  
“Will do!” Entrapta ran off and it was just Mog and Catra together.

“New leg design?” Catra tried to distract him. Melog seemed to catch the drift and leaped up onto the countertop Mog had wedged himself onto, nuzzling his hand with her head. He complied and started to pet her.

“It needs a lot of work.” Mog revealed, “though the one for Tallstar is on its third draft. We’ll be prototyping soon once we get a little data from a quick mock up.”

“Sounds like it’s a transforming leg from what I overheard.” Catra tried. No response. “Is it for Mal when she finally gets back on her feet?”

Mog snorted, his tail flicking. “You mean Princess De’va.”  
“Oh come one,” Catra groaned, “you know she’s not like that.” Catra tried.  
“So was I the only fucking person on this fucking boat who didn’t know?” Mog growled.  
“I just found out myself, you know.”  
“It’s different for you.”

“Why, because I’m a Royal too?” Catra sighed and began searching the kitchen. She found a few things. Apples. Bread again. “If it’s that big a deal, just go talk to her about it, you dummy.”

“No. She can kiss my ass if she’s too stuck up to tell me herself.”

“Stubborn idiot.” Catra chucked an apple at his head. Mog yelped, then caught the apple as it bounced off the crown of his head with his tail. “Impressive -- considering you fumbled it.”

“I just thought other than Tab, I was the person she was closest to, well until you showed up.”

Catra bit down on the apple in her hand. “I think she cares about you a lot, Mog. Enough that she just wanted you to know her without all the trappings, so to speak.”

“You think it’s that easy, huh?” Mog chuckled.

“Well, I’m obvious. She needed to explain who I was to her and who she is was linked to that explanation.” Catra chewed a little bit, “Tab is her spouse so Tab had to know. Not to mention Tab is ex-military. I find it hard to believe the Military wouldn’t know who the Princess was.”

“Uh-huh, and how does Tom fit into that picture?”  
“He studied magic with the Cait Sith? Magus Angora is her father so Tom learned under him?”

“You seem to have an explanation for everything, huh?” Moggie ran a hand through his now shaggy hair. “I still don’t like it. I feel like she lied to me all these years.”

“I think that’s fair to feel. She kind of did.” Catra took another bite, “but she was also laying low for a really good reason. For someone doing that, the less who knows, the better.”

“I guess so.” Mog answered non-comitantly, scratching Melog’s chin.  
“You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah. Peachy.” He rubbed his chest with the pad of his thumb. Catra tried not to stare at the ugly surgical scar there. “What about you, Kitty-Kat? Tom and you have been keeping the Captain and me from falling apart while Princess De’va plays sleeping beauty.”

“Right, because she totally wanted to get beaten up by the Sorceress?” Catra added with snark.  
“Okay, fine, but my question still stands. Are you doing okay? Can’t be easy holding us up.”  
“I’m stressed.” Catra admitted. “Tired too.” Mog gave her a shy smile.

“Then take a break some time, literally none of us will fault you for it. Maybe you can hang out with that Blond Maverick, Her Royal Pain in the Ass and their buddy Archer dude?” Mog offered as a suggestion. “Or Entrapta. She’s been great but if a break with her is relaxing for you I fully endorse this. She’s a little exhausting for me right now.”

“Mog,” Catra snickered, “you’re awful.”  
“What? Entrapta is perfectly lovely!” Mog admitted, “she’s also a little too much. If I was well…”  
“Adora and Glimmer are stressful to be around right now. All they do is argue with each other.”  
“Ah, because one of them got me stabbed or because Tab shot one of them?”  
Catra rolled her eyes. “Do you even know who’s name is whose?”  
“Nope, and there’s a sixty percent chance that I won’t ever bother!”

“Both, you dork.” Catra explained somberly. “I guess I could hang out with Bow. He’s just slow moving right now, and when he’s not, I think he’s flirting with Adam?”

“Flirting with Adam is a passtime you will find many people have.” Mog chuckled at that, “just ask Mal, she’s practically a champion of the sport. My advice for you: don’t ask her about that in front of Tab though -- unless you want to hear those two argue and then get into an apology circle so annoying even Tom will get to the point where he yells at them to just shut the hell up.”

“Sounds like a riot.” Catra chuckled. “So, speaking of the big guy, where is he?”

“In the hangar with the Clawdeen-Nu. He’s rebuilding the engine block. Tom says he has a feeling we’ll need it soon. I’ve learned not to question his hunches. Especially if he had a long talk with Mal first and she had one of her many probable reality visions or whatever.”

“Funny how that works.” Catra finished the apple, and sighed. “The Captain?”

“Still pouting on the bridge. Hasn’t gone to visit their wife yet.”  
“Drunk too?”  
“Sober this time. For once, and the bridge doesn’t look like a trash can.”  
“That sounds like a nice change. Maybe I can finally talk some sense into them?”  
“Good luck with that.” Mog bidded as she headed through the kitchen, over to the galley. 

Then she made the short trek to the bridge to find Tab sitting there, their long white hair a mass of messy curls about their face and down their shoulders to their waist. The scent of some sort of soap hit Catra hard. It was so strong you could barely detect Tab’s natural scent underneath it. Their clothes were different for once. Gone was the tank top they hadn’t changed in who knew how long, and in its place was just a simple black button up, but it was half unbuttoned. The shirt was one of Mal’s, Catra suspected since she had come to realize something: Mal’s leather jacket was oversized, but her shirts weren’t. Tab was a good bit taller, and the long sleeved shirt actually ended about two inches above their wrist. Catra peaked over to find Tab running a comb through their hair too hard, ripping out strands every time it snagged on knots.

“You know, I don’t think ‘balding’ would be a good look for you right now.” She teased.

Tabby stopped the aggressive combing and looked up at Catra. She tried not to flinch at how empty Tab’s gaze seemed. “It’d make me look really masculine again, wouldn’t it?”

“Again?” Catra blinked. “Not where I was going with that…” Catra backtracked.  
“It’s why I grew it out in the first place.” Tab admitted softly. “It helped make me look...softer.”  
“You mean you looked more hardcore than you did now?” Catra asked. Tab held their breath.

“What I think I mean by that is…” Tab paused, “More feminine.” They explained. “My ex-fiance hated it being long. Said she couldn’t take me seriously as a mate who should protect her.” 

“I find that idea laughable.” Catra went to the copilot’s chair and flopped down in it. “You can be one of the scariest people in the entire universe if you put your mind to it.” After a moment, she shook her head and stuck her hand out. “Gimmie.” Tab handed the comb and Catra began to gently comb through the knotted tresses, easily gliding the knots through her fingers. “How did you manage to get it in this sorry state?”

“I had to unbraid it. There’s a lot of it. I took a shower.”  
“I can tell.” Catra gently flicked one of their ears. “Thank you.”  
“I stank, didn’t I?” Catra didn’t even dignify that with a response. “Sorry.” Tab added.  
“So did you even use a conditioner in this thing, or brush it when it was still wet?”

“Sort of? I’m a lil hopeless with these sorts of things.” Tab admitted, flushing madly. “Grima always said it made me look beautiful and she loved my long hair because havin’ it made me happy, and that made her happy for me.” Tab closed their eyes, not even complaining if Catra pulled a little too hard. “She always helped me look after it. Washin’ it. Brushin’ it. Combin’ it. Braidin’ it for me. Takin’ a shower without her is actually a lil weird.” Tab rubbed their left shoulder, their lips pulling into a frown. “I didn’t want the first time I saw her in nearly three weeks to be me reekin’ of alcohol and lookin’ like a hot mess. She’d be so disappointed.”

“I get that, I do.” Catra stopped her work to gently rest her hand on Tab’s shoulder. The older Theran grabbed Catra’s hand and squeezed it. “But hey, you don’t have to be perfect. She’ll be happy just to see you again, no matter the state you’re in.”

“Y’think so?”

Catra returned back to combing. “I do. Since she’s woken up, she’ll ask for you, then she tries not to bring you up too much because not seeing you has been making her sad.”

“Does she know what I did to that girl yet?” Tab asked softly. “Your friend, Glimmer I mean.”  
“You finally learned her name. Congrats.” Catra teased.

“Get off it would you?” Tab grumbled, rubbing their neck “Unlike Mog, I’m in hot water after my fuck up. Can’t afford to call her ‘The Royal Pain In My Ass’ anymore no matter how true it may be. Ain’t a particularly good look after everything that’s happened.”

“That’s true.” Catra stared at Tab. “Do you regret it?”

“You need to ask?” It almost came out as a snarl. “Last thing I want is to be someone who thinks of people as obstacles or possessions or toys like he does. It’s disgustin’.”

“You mean Horde Prime?” Catra asked pointedly.  
“Look, has she said anythin’ about me and Glimmer?” Tab was dodging.  
“Do you even have to ask if Mal knows about something? She’s naturally nosey.”

“True, whatever she doesn’t see beforehand, her eyes and ears will tell her.”   
“You mean her spies.”  
“So y’know about those?” Tab’s smirk was toothy. 

“It only made sense when I really thought about it.” Catra admitted. “How else does she excel at knowing so much, even when you were out in black space for how long?” 

“It’s why she's the Quartermaster. Tryin’ to tell her to not care or be aware of everythin’ that is happenin’ off the ship that could affect the fate of Panthera is like askin’ for pigs to fly.” Tab sighed heavily. “I can’t look at her after all that shit with Glimmer.”

“I think you need to trust Mal enough to know you and to accept what you did.” Catra offered. Tab made a face, nose scrunching at the suggestion and Catra lightly smacked their shoulder.

“What?”  
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself, will you?” Catra huffed. “You sound pathetic.”  
“Heh.” Tab snorted, then their shoulders began to shake with laughter. “I’m that bad huh?”  
“Yeah, you are.”

There was a lull and Tab sighed. “How are you doing though, Catra?”  
“You too, huh? Everyone’s worrying about me...”  
“You’re practically my niece you know,” Tab smirked again, “considerin’ I married your aunt.”  
“Should I start calling you Aunty-uncle Tab from now on?” Catra stuck out her tongue.  
“I’ll pass. Rather not be reminded that I’m startin’ to close in on forty.” Tab chuckled.

“How about Captain Old Timer then?” Catra teased.  
“Uncalled for!”  
“Major Mature?”  
“Geeze, these are just gonna to get worse, aren’t they?”  
“Long in the Tooth Manx?”  
“Ugh!”  
“Tabby the Venerable?”  
Tab buried their face in their hands. “Stop. Please. No more.”

Catra grinned. “I’m doing okay, thank you. Might take Mog’s advice about a break soon though.”  
“Please do.” Tab half groaned, mortified from being teasingly called old, “and thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Catra sighed. “I just want everyone to be okay, and then maybe we can just wander around and do a few odd jobs together. That would be fun, wouldn’t it?”

Tab hummed. “How about you go for your morning visit as usual?” they suggested, “Then when you’re done, you can help me maybe braid my hair again? Or at least put it in a ponytail.”

“You’re that useless at styling your own hair? But it’s so nice -- current tangles aside.”  
“Thank Grima.” Tab’s laughter was genuinely warm. “I’ll go see her alone afterwards. Promise.”  
“You don’t want to come with me?” Catra squeezed their shoulders.

Tab shook their head. “I think Grima and I should have a long talk. Just the two of us.” Catra nodded and stood up handing Tab the comb. Before she could stand up fully, Tab reached up and pulled her into an odd and awkward one armed hug before messing up her hair. “You’re a little punk, you know that?”

“Hey!” Catra protested, smoothing her hair back.

“Tell her I won’t keep her waiting long.” That emptiness returned to Tab’s eyes, but it didn’t seem as dark or endless as before. Catra hoped that was truly the case.

The walk to Mal’s room was just about normal then. She headed back towards the cargo hold of the Purrsia with Melog at her heels. Past Teela who seemed exhausted, and also worried.

“You’re a little late today.” Teela’s smile seemed a little tight, worried.  
“Everything’s okay.” Catra reassured, “Mog had a bit of an episode, Tab’s actually speaking.”

“I’ll let the doctor know.” Teela confirmed. “Maybe he’ll take their advice about the Meds, or at least consider it.” Teela’s eyebrows raised at the second. “Good news for once. Anything else?”

“Tab seems more like themselves right now. How are things here?”

Teela looked a little conflicted and then spoke very gingerly. “Princess De’va’s back is giving her a lot of trouble right now. We have her on stronger painkillers so if she seems a bit out of it, that’s probably why.” She fidgeted. “Other than that she’s in good spirits.”

“Well, hopefully I can make them better. Tab says they’re going to visit soon.”

Teela’s green eyes glazed over, like she took in the information but was wary of it. “That sounds...promising?”

“You don’t think they’ll do it.”

“You don’t pull yourself out of a depressive spell with a snap of the fingers. It’s usually a gradual thing.” Teela sighed, and shook her head. “Don’t mind me, I had the last shift of the night and didn’t sleep when I should have. Should I let Adora, Bow and Glimmer know you’re here?”

“Not yet.” Catra asked. “But tell Adam.”  
“Sounds good.”

Catra walked down the corridor. She couldn’t help but feel there were more eyes watching now, around the corner, in places she couldn’t see, almost like they were guarding Mal’s room. She didn’t think much of it, coming into the room to find Mal lying down. Catra gave a pause when she saw blond hair lying precariously on the edge of the bed with a red coat. She took another look and realized he was a little taller, a little broader in the shoulders.

Adam.

Adam was here, and Mal was resting her head on his chest. His hands were running through her hair, the one ear Catra could see -- the other seemed pressed against the prince’s chest -- the prince had begun to scratch. He rubbed her shoulder and murmured something into her ear but when Mal’s ear flicked at the sound of Catra’s footsteps, Adam sat up suddenly, helping Mal to sit up and then situating himself on the left side of the bed, a hand quietly resting on Mal’s left stump. She blinked a few times, eyes a bit glassy.

“Am I...interrupting something?” Catra raised an eyebrow at them.  
“Ah! Hello Princess Catra!” Adam greeted, face flushing. “No! You’re not interrupting a thing.”  
“You two seem very cozy.” Catra wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“Listening to heartbeats always calmed De’va down whenever she needs to get herself grounded again.” Adam explained simply. Mal was looking at Catra, and then Adam and back, but was unusually silent. “It’s been a rough couple of days catching her up on everything.”

“I bet.” The younger Theran remarked, growing uncomfortable at Mal’s continued silence. 

“Anyways,” Adam announced, “I should let you two have your moment and stress Mal out about all her Queenly duties another time.”

“Tell me that was a joke?” Catra frowned.

“Sadly, ruling is hard work! You two have a good talk -- and Catra, tuck her in to take a cat nap when you leave, would you?” That finally got an audible response from Mal -- a low, deep throated growl. 

“Jackass.”  
Adam gave her a shit eating grin. “See you later for another debrief!”  
“Good grief.”  
“Rest well!”

It was just the two of them now, and Mal’s fingers played with her choker as she looked first to Catra, then to Melog, humming, but tense. Eventually she took a deep breath and relaxed. She waved her right hand towards her, beckoning Catra to come into the room. Melog beat her to it, but Catra was fresh on her heels.

“Hey you.”  
“Mal.”  
“How are you doing?”

Catra rolled her eyes. “I should be asking that, remember?”

“Listening isn’t always my best skill.” Mal’s smile was sleepy, but it shone brighter when Melog leapt up and curled into the space where Mal’s left lower leg would have been had she had a prosthetic on. “Hello Melog, thank you for keeping my stump warm!” She scratched Melog’s ears and smiled when the Astral Cat began to purr. “Such a sweet thing.”

“What was that all about?” Catra wrinkled her nose. “You and Adam?” In the bright light of the hospital, it was possible to notice a slight flush to Mal’s dark skin.

“I...got triggered by something Adam and I were having a discussion about.” Mal fidgeted, “Sorry if I alarmed you, I was just kind of getting out of the episode when you came and nothing you two were saying was really registering.” Mal still seemed a bit distressed. “Ordinarily Tab would help me with grounding but Adam was here so he…” The rest was self explanatory. “Normally that doesn’t happen that badly but I guess a lot of things are just very close to the surface right now.” Catra decided to take her at her word on that. Something told her to trust in that.

“Your back’s bugging you?” She asked. Mal nodded. “The other day you said other than your legs being numb everything was fine?” Catra tilted her head. Something wasn’t adding up.

Mal seemed to be startled into awareness by this line of questioning. “I fell, is all.”  
Catra felt a cold chill. “Is it?”  
“You doubt me.” Mal hummed, scratching Melog’s chin.  
“Always.” Catra informed. “When it comes to information. Not your feelings though.”

“I had to pee,” Mal half whined the confession, “and between a phantom limb episode and a fun little dream where Tab and I were --” Catra flushed when she realized where Mal’s story was heading, “well you don’t probably want to hear about all of that.”

“I’d rather not.” Catra confirmed.  
“The hair pulling was fun! I always loved that Tab’s hair is waist length. I had Tab’s braid--”  
“Mal!”

“Anyways,” Mal snickered, “nature called, I forgot I didn’t have a leg anymore, and that I wasn’t somewhere familiar where I could just hop and hold onto things I knew were sturdy. I lost my balance and fell.”

Catra couldn’t shake the feeling that Mal was lying. Something seemed a little too manufactured in this. Her jocose manner, her willingness to poke fun at herself so suddenly. The story? It sounded plausible, and Mal’s embarrassment seemed earnest, but it just seemed so off.

“Flat on your back?” Catra questioned realizing where the story sounded amiss. A fall like Mal described would have had her on her hip or side. Maybe on her hands if she fell forward which was most likely given the circumstances Mal described. Mal’s eyes met hers.

“Yeah. Flat on my back. Messed it up bad. More inflammation. More pain, more episodes of my leg feeling weak. Good news though?” Mal was too quick to change the topic. Catra knew it. She had to be lying, but why? For now Catra decided to just play along with it.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing’s broken. I can even wiggle my toes a bit still.” She lifted her leg to do just that. “Look!”   
Catra smiled at her for that. “So no paralysis?”

“I mean, it was never a complete paralysis, so it’s not worse, thankfully. I honestly can’t tell you the last time, without medical intervention I didn’t have problems with my legs. I’m just glad the pain doesn’t keep me from sleeping.” Mal explained. “Another implant should help but it might be a little while. Healing needs to happen and then I need to be fitted. All that fun stuff.” Mal rolled her eyes. “And nothing strenuous.”

“You mean Tab.” Catra teased. Mal grunted, shooting her a dirty look. Catra cleared her throat and smiled. “I have good news. Tab’s going to visit you soon.”

“Really?” Mal was suddenly more alert, her eyes even brighter. Catra grinned.  
“Really. They promised.”

*

“So how are these going to work again?” The young Theran man who was helping Tallstar blinked sheepishly. She could have sworn he was more asleep than awake this whole time. She was noticing this theme. Even Entrapta seemed sheepish when she requested a look at her communicator and came back half way through this session with Mog saying Tallstar had an impressive encoding on it that she couldn’t break through. Tallstar smirked. Serves her right.

“No technology is…” he paused to yawn, “ever perfect, but that’s the beauty of it. Whatever we can’t get right, the inputs and data you give us will help us to correct. That helps the final build, as well as the personalized prototype. Not flying in blind helps.”

Tallstar stared at him. “So I’m just your guinea pig, Moggie?”  
“No, I prefer the term ‘participant’ actually.” Mog rubbed sleep out of his singular eye. “Or client.”  
“That’s practically the same thing!”  
“Responsive cybernetic processors are a pain to calibrate. I need all the data you can give me.”  
“You have dozens of models just hanging in your shop! Just give me one of those!”

“It’s not that simple. Most of these were made with Therans in mind.” Mog brushed off, yawning again. Tallstar rolled her eyes at him. “Hume legs have very different needs than Theran legs.”

Tallstar looked at him skeptically. “We all walk on two legs. Well, most of the time in your case.”

“Therans balance most of our weight on the ball of our foot. When we aren’t wearing shoes, our heels are actually never touching the ground.” To demonstrate his point, Mog unceremoniously tugged his heavy work boots off and tossed them off to the side without much fanfare. The brief flash she saw made her realize the heel had a bit of height to it. Tallstar watched him amble about on the balls of his feet, balanced unperturbed and perfectly graceful, his claws clicking on the metal flooring. “Humes have a tendency to put most of your weight on the heel. So for starters, when we give our height, we’re technically a little bit off by your measurements, which requires height measured from a flat footed position. Our shoes are actually developed to take this in consideration. How do you think the term ‘kitten heels’ got their name when Earth people developed them?”

“Who would have guessed?” Tallstar murmured, “but both of my legs are gone, why not just have me try the models you already got? In my case it doesn’t make a huge difference.”

“Your muscle, bone and joint tolerances are quite different and in your case, you want some bells and whistles. I can’t just slap on prototypes I made for -- for,” he was stumbling, as if he was deciding, “For Princess De’va without serious changes that take your physiology into consideration. For starters, a prototype for her would break your bones into pieces.”

“Yikes, she’s all of five six, rather petite and has a skeleton that strong?” Tallstar blinked.

“Five three and a half, actually, by your measurements.” He corrected her. “Five four by Theran measurements.” Mog yawned again and stooped down to adjust something on the prototype leg prosthetic, his tail standing straight up as he balanced effortlessly. “Metal conducts vibrations very easily. I put in dampeners, but the way her leg was amputated -- her hip dislikes it. I know part of it is just how her residual limb is. The interface is flush. It sits ‘right’ but it always rotates her gait ever so slightly outwards to the left when the prosthetic is on. Do that a few hundred thousand times a day and you have a problem called a sore hip. It’s a lot of trial and error.”

“Am I going to have that problem too?” Tallstar asked curiously.

“Shouldn’t. Your legs are a bit more straightforward. I don’t have to worry about a possible transformation and how bones shift. The amputation was done rather evenly, most likely because the injury wasn’t as complicated. The fact that you’re missing both legs and they were amputated cleanly and equally on both sides is absolutely great. It makes you easier to work with.” He admitted. “I’m not working with force transference to the existing limb and what flesh and bone can or can’t tolerate, just the interface to the residual limb and the joints above.” Mog stood and went to the workbench to fumble around for a new tool. “It's easier to design for.”

“Well gee,” Tallstar felt her irritation rise at that. “I’m SO glad I lost BOTH of my legs just so you could have less trouble making me new ones.” Mog turned to her and blinked at her dolishly.

“I’m...sorry?”  
“Don’t make light of it.” She crossed her arms. “It’s insensitive.”

“Sorry, it’s just, the goal of a prosthesis is to restore function, not create a new barrier to it, but when it’s a unilateral problem, working around the existing limb is hard, and it's utterly unethical to suggest amputating the other limb for the sake of ‘balance’ on both sides.”

Tallstar smacked her head. “Please tell me you never suggested that to Princess De’va?”  
“That would be completely barbaric. I have standards.”  
Tallstar rolled her eyes. “You literally just said half of this stuff to me.”  
Mog’s tail flicked. “I also just said that solution was completely unethical, didn’t I?”  
“Oh thank god.” Tallstar looked at him between her fingers. “You’re a little odd, aren’t you?”

“I haven’t worked out a good compromise yet for, well, Princess De’va.” He dipped his head as he said that name, stumbling over it and ignoring Tallstar’s jab. “We tried a complete carbon fiber build once, but the great reduction in weight throws off her sense of balance too much and she hates it because it takes power away from her kicks.” He stroked his chin. “Plus it’s stupidly expensive when she breaks the damn thing. So now it’s a matter of finding the right combination of something like carbon fiber and something heavier that will take the abuse she puts it through that makes her happy.” Tallstar winced when she felt a jolt just as Mog adjusted something. Her right thigh protested with discomfort. “For now, she tries to compensate for the issue with a little more compressible material in her boots to take the shock and load from landing from a large jump to protect her right knee. It adds to her height. Makes her look about two inches taller. Eventually I’ll figure out something where she doesn’t need to do that.” He paused then added, “she might still decide to wear heels anyways. I might have to take that into consideration.”

“I only understood about half of that. So she’s only a little bit taller than Catra, right?”

“Means nothing. The woman will bite your balls off if she ever needs to. True story.” Mog responded without missing a beat. “She is what some call ‘hardcore’.”

Tallstar gaped. “I’m not sure whether to ask or to say I never want to know?”

“She’s actually the runt of her litter, so if she’s five four, it’s safe to say the rest of her siblings from that group would be at least three to six inches taller than she is, so yes, you’re right, she is rather petite.” Mog stood up, and began wiping his hands on the dark work pants he wore, easily towering over Tallstar. “I suspect, given the stories I heard about her litter’s illness -- being smaller worked to her advantage. Less stress on a body that couldn’t keep up.”

“Hmm,” Tallstar looked up at him. Up. “Out of curiosity, how tall are you?”

“Six five. I’m the second tallest on the ship.” He pulled his blue hair out of his face. “Old man’s just barely over seven feet. Tab’s a couple inches shorter than six. Catra is barely over five. We’ve discussed that Princess De’va is five four.” Mog’s voice sounded almost robotic, his tail began to flick warningly. “You’re five seven, Tallstar. A hundred and sixty seven pounds. Thigh circumference twenty three, waist ~”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, creeper, why the hell do you know all my measurements?”

He gestured to the workshop. “I need to know. I need to know the forces, the fit. What waist band size you might need if your legs need abdominal support. All those matter when considering prosthetics.”

Tallstar just gave him a crooked smile. “You’re a little off your rocker, you know that, buddy?”

“Sorry. I just haven’t been feeling very well since we saved Mal and Catra.” Mog grabbed a rag and began to meticulously clean his fingers, his eyes never leaving his hand. “Working on this project is the only thing that’s been keeping my mind from wandering to…” he paused, looking up very briefly. “things.” He sighed, stopping his cleaning ritual and just staring at his hand, the other one holding the rag began to absentmindedly rub at his stomach. “They cut my abdomen open for an experiment once, you know. I was wide awake the whole time they did it.”

Tallstar blanched. “Who?” she had a feeling she wouldn’t like the answer.  
“The Horde.” Mog frowned. “I’m sorry if I’m not very peopley right now. ”  
Tallstar winced at her insensitivity. “Right. Nevermind what I said. What now?”

“Go for a walk. Tell me how it feels and I’ll make some notes. I’ll plug the micom in and see what its error rate looks like too.”

Tallstar was happy to leave the room, to get away from Mog. He didn’t seem, all there, but she had heard the rumours. Thirteen daggers. One close to his heart. An extensive surgery, and a stubbornness that had him leaving against doctor’s orders. To say she couldn’t blame the guy, especially given that he had been experimented on by the Horde was an understatement. She sighed, deciding she would make the walk as long as she could tolerate.

Already, she could see what he was getting at. The settings on these legs were turned down but less than ten minutes in, she was feeling a radiating pain through her thighs, into her hips. She continued anyways, though Starship Eternia. After all, the sooner she got legs, the sooner Jewelstar and Starla could be saved and the three of them would be reunited. She kept her mind on this goal, echoed it in her mind over and over again.

Eventually she found herself having to take a break, and found herself not too far from StarShip Eternia’s mess hall. She sat on a bench, closing her eyes. Old instincts died hard and she let her ears pick up on the strands of conversation here and there.

“They say Princess Adora snuck into the Theran Princess’ room to give her a piece of mind.”  
“Man, wish I could have seen! She probably was surprised to get a thrashing like that!”

“Apparently, Princess Adora is still upset about her friend being hurt by that Rogue Theran and the Theran Princess gave Princess Adora a bs answer and that started a fight.”

Tallstar frowned at the news, pretending instead to be thoroughly engaged with the comm device in her hand. She flicked through to some messages. Her last two to her siblings. ‘Be careful out there’ to Starla and ‘where do you want to meet?’ to Jewelstar. She sighed.

“Honestly, why do we even work with them? They can’t even agree with each other.”

“If Horde Prime was here, how many do you think would abandon our cause to him? I don’t think Princess De’va is the strongest leader, and they’re cowards by nature.”

“Well the whole Monarchy has been in disarray since their Queen was murdered. People say it wasn’t Princess De’va who did it, but she seems kinda shifty to me. I mean, she just up and disappeared for like, fifteen years. That seems like an admission of guilt to me.”

Tallstar frowned when she noticed a hallway, an Eternian man leaning against the wall, playing with his watch. They locked eyes, and he quietly began to walk the other way. Weird. Sure he wasn’t watching her, she pulled out a device of her own.

“Might as well take the opportunity.” She murmured, quickly typing a message. “Hopefully this buys you some time Jewel. Starla.” She hit send just as she heard someone call her.

“Tallstar!”

Tallstar’s eyes flicked over to where she heard her name and she pocketed the device just as she came face to face with mismatched eyes and a smile. “Ah. Catra. Is it time to cash in on my favour yet?” She winked. She backed up when Melog stepped close to her, took a few sniffs and then growled. “Oh, come on kitty, I don’t have any treats on me, chill.”

“Melog, it’s fine.” Catra dismissed. “You haven’t actually told me anything yet.”   
“Touche.”  
“Those your new bionic legs?”  
“Nope, just a test model for some data gathering.”

“My condolences?” Catra offered, “Entrapta is all about science, science, science. I have a feeling she’s colluded with Mog and came up with about two dozen more data points to measure that he hadn’t thought of before he met her. Before you know it, those two will build legs better than the flesh and bone ones you were born with.”

“He seems pretty smart.” Tallstar agreed. “Way smarter than me.” Catra sat with her.

“We might have a bit more time to wait for your legs, but I swear, we’re gonna do it. Tab swore it to me the other day, but Mog…”

“He’s not all there right now, is he?”  
Catra’s laugh was one half worry, one half exhaustion. “He’s doing better than most.”  
“Your Captain turned into an alcoholic, right?” Melog growled at her again. Tallstar eyed her.

“You know, I have a sense that might have always been a low key thing for them. I tried bringing it up with Mal a couple of days ago, and she sort of changed the topic really quick.” Catra sighed, lightly tapping Melog’s snout to get her to stop growling. “Cut it out. Tallstar’s a friend.”

“I don’t recall ever saying that.” Tallstar put her arms behind her head, smirking.  
“I guess not. Well, we can work on it then, right?”

“Sure, whatever.” Tallstar said without commitment, “So, Mog’s got some trauma response going on. The Captain is seeing what they can find at the bottom of a bottle, you’re playing peacemaker with your old friends and failing.”

“They’re still my friends. It’s just awkward,” Catra huffed, “with Tab shooting Glimmer and all.” 

“Uh-huh, and that’s why the blonde keeps grumbling about the crew of the Purrsia, and a lot of what she’s saying is getting misconstrued as being about Therans in general.” Tallstar smirked.

“I wish Adora would stop. It’s not fair.”  
“It’s how these things go. Also, it seems pretty boy is flirting with Adam, midriff out and all.”  
That got Catra to laugh a little. “Sounds like Bow.”  
“And Pinky has been keeping quite the low profile for herself.”  
Catra rubbed her arm. “I think Glimmer’s just trying to stay quiet in order to heal.”  
“As for Purrsia -- the big guy is just giving everyone space, too much space, am I right?”

“Look at you, keeping close tabs on everyone.” Catra snorted. “It’s like you used to be a spy.”  
Tallstar ignored the jab. “The recently outed Princess’ old spinal injury has been playing nasty.”  
There was a pause. “She said she fell.” Catra allowed a beat. “Flat on her back.”  
Tallstar considered what she had heard a few minutes ago. “And you believe her?”

“I want to believe Mal has no reason to lie to me, but I can’t shake the feeling that she is lying to me for some reason. I know. It’s stupid.” Catra brushed off.

“I don’t think it is. People lie for a lot of reasons.” Tallstar admitted, “I know that too well.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Catra put her hand to her mouth and lightly bit her knuckle, “but I thought she didn’t have any more reasons to lie to me anymore…?” She mused quietly. “Unless this has something to do with that Lybica said.”

“Lybica?” Tallstar asked.  
“She’s my...mother, apparently. Mal got her to meet me somehow.”  
Tallstar’s eyes narrowed at the insight. “Interesting power.”

“So if Mal is lying, the real question is why? I thought she trusted me.”  
“You can trust someone and still lie to them, you know.”  
“But why would she do something like that?”  
“Maybe she’s protecting someone? That’s a thing.”

Catra hadn’t honestly thought of that idea. “Yeah, but who? Tab would never. In fact, Tab hasn’t even seen her. Old man Angora?”

“He does lead the Resistance.” Tallstar shrugged.  
“Who wants to put her on the throne.”

“Well, with you around, maybe he doesn’t need her anymore?” Tallstar offered. It was a dark thought, one that didn’t sit well with Catra. Not with it coming from Mal’s own father.

“No. I don’t think that’s it, but maybe the idea is right.” Then it hit her. Adam. Catra rushed to her feet. “Thanks Tallstar, gotta go! Bye!”

“You’re welcome?” Tallstar shrugged her shoulders and pulled out her device and began typing.

D is still injured.  
C has confirmed her mother is L.  
A has attacked D. The alliance may become weak.   
Suggestion: CC has a plant, right? Add pressure. Use him.

She hit send, and after a few minutes got a buzz and she checked it.

CC does have a plant. Can confirm. Will send info to him.  
See what you can swipe from the damaged ship.  
Your reward: S and J will remain safe. For now.

Honestly? She would love to get money out of this, but considering what the risks were for her brother and sister, she would zip her mouth on that for now. Besides, the Eternians and the Therans were a little too trusting for their own good. She might as well find out what she could and make a quick buck selling that information on the black market.

“Guess I’m still on the clock.” Tallstar stood and began whistling a tune as she headed for the hangar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like many of the upcoming chapters are a bit...long, haha. I'm trying not to burn myself out on them. The chapter length does go back to a more reasonable, manageable level, eventually. Sometimes you just can't cut where you originally expected to, and well, this was just one of those chapters since we are following a handful of characters have several interactions on the ship. As we start to move away from the crux of the Etherian-Pantheran Alliance drama a few chapters from now, I do go back to a scene structure I tend to prefer, since it's easier to know where that can be "cut" for a chapter.
> 
> As for the lingering question of the Mal|De'va vs Adora debate on projecting?
> 
> The answer is, yes, they both were projecting frustrations with other people towards the other.
> 
> Adora was projecting her frustration towards herself at not being able to protect Glimmer or being there for Catra on Mal. She's motivated by needing to be of use to them by being their protector, so maybe it is Adora and not Mal who doesn't have Catra's best interest in mind?
> 
> Mal is projecting her frustration at having someone push their inability to manage their feelings onto her. Yes that someone she's imagining when she thinks "a two-faced childish asshole who can’t sort her damn feelings out and makes it my problem" is Kittrina. (Though if you squint, I realize this could also, inadvertently refer to someone else as well in Mal's life). She does love her niece, her niece is just difficult.
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “It stopped being your problem alone when you made it a scene.” Adam’s voice took a sharp edge to it, and Adora recoiled noticeably, her jaw locked, her eyes grew flinty.
> 
> “Fine. I’ll do it under one condition.” Adora lifted her chin. “Tabby Manx needs to apologize to Glimmer and make it up to her for shooting her.”
> 
> “Adora. We as in Eternia, now, are the aggressor against our allies.” Adam warned. “We have no room to make demands of Princess De’va. Please understand our position.”


	22. “I trust you, Grima. Always have.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer gives Adora a piece of her mind as a Queen to a sudden Princess  
> Adam is playing damage control, tired of Adora's crap and thankful Mal bought him time  
> Mal and Tab share a tender, painful moment where worst outcomes and Tab's shaky wellbeing collide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life is a thing that happens sometimes at inopportune moments.  
> Oh well. I missed the weekend update I was aiming for but it's here now. :)
> 
> The second part where we're with Tab and Mal -- I had a particular mood for this, informed by the song "Slow Life" by Of Monsters and Men. Take a listen if you'd like and try not to cry?
> 
> As always, please leave kudos and reviews as they are encouragement and always much appreciated!  
> Thank you!

Dear Adora,

Everyone else won’t come out and say it straight so I will.  
Yes it’s all your fault.  
No, I don’t care if hearing that hurts your feelings.  
You certainly didn’t care about anyone else’s.

Catra.

*

“You’re in a mood today.” Glimmer watched Adora pace back and forth in her hospital enough times that it was beginning to make her dizzy. In fact, now that she had thought of it, she hadn’t seen Adora so much as left her room the entire day. Glimmer had gotten her meals with Bow’s help. She sat with Bow in the mess hall to have her meals and found Adora exactly where they left her last. Had she even eaten.

“How are you feeling now?” Adora asked softly.

“Just a tiny bit sore, but I’m almost fighting fit.” Glimmer grinned and punched forward into the air as if hitting a punching bag. She added more enthusiasm to it, but then winced slightly when she punched a little too hard. “Okay, so I’m still getting there.”

“We should probably get ready to go home then.” Adora mused.  
“With or without Catra?” Glimmer asked innocently. If looks could kill, Adora’s would have.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”  
“How am I being ridiculous? You heard what she said. They’re her family!”  
“We’re her family. Us. They don’t know her like we do.”

Glimmer bit her tongue at that, and shook her head. “Maybe we should stick around?”

Adora turned and looked at her, blinking. “What? But you said~”  
“Forget what I said. Before I was looking at it as Etheria being separated from everyone else.”  
“What made you change your mind?”

Glimmer placed her arms behind her back, fidgeting. “Well...the First Ones are still alive, and you’re one of them, and their allies from Panthera, the Therans, well, Catra’s one of them. So yeah, maybe we’re not personally involved as Etherians, but people who have personal ties to us are. Maybe it’s time we accept that we’re a part of something a little larger?”

“I’m not interested in fighting another war.” Adora huffed.  
Glimmer rolled her eyes at this odd role reversal. “I thought you liked being She-ra?”  
“This is a different kind of war, far from Etheria where She-ra belongs.”  
“So? Why can’t these people need She-Ra too?”  
“They have He-Man.” Adora pointed out. “And whatever the hell De’va is.”  
“You don’t want to fight Mal and Adam’s war you mean.” Glimmer realized. Adora frowned.  
“I want to believe my brother means well, and I want to believe De’va does, but…”  
“You don’t trust the Therans because Tabby shot me.” Glimmer sighed.

“You nearly died out there! Bow got hurt really badly too.” Adora smacked her hand on the small table by her. “They don’t fight the way we do!”

“Well, it is a different battle ground.” Glimmer noted, then pinched the bridge of her nose.

“How can I be okay with anything they do? They don’t even try to capture people! They just flat out kill!” Adora grew increasingly distressed. “How can you be okay with that?” she repeated.

“Adora, I think we need to remember that Hordak wasn’t like most of the Horde.” Glimmer weighed her words carefully as she spoke them. “I mean, it makes sense. He was exiled. Separated from the hivemind. What I’m saying is we fought a very different war than anyone else, it seems. A gentle war.”

“A gentle war?” Adora laughed incredulously.

“Those words probably don’t remotely belong together,” Glimmer pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to backtrack “but hear me out on this, please -- the Horde didn’t kill anyone on Etheria until Horde Prime got involved. It had me thinking,” Glimmer paused, “Maybe this was just the nature of what everyone else had been fighting all this time outside of Despondos? Maybe we just got lucky to have someone who wasn’t particularly ruthless in conquering us?”

Adora frowned at that, then curled up on her spot on the bed, hugging her knees.

“You don’t think he was ruthless, huh?” Adora sighed.  
“In comparison to what I saw Horde Prime do when I was stuck on the Velvet Glove -- Hordak was bad, I won’t pretend otherwise but Horde Prime was a whole new level.”

“Glimmer, could you live with yourself if you killed someone? Even in self defence?” She looked up to find Glimmer looking uncertain. “I don’t think I could.”

“I’d prefer not to find out, honestly Adora.”  
“Then let’s go home~”

“But,” Glimmer held up her hand, “but if we went home, with Catra even, and months or years down the line she found out Mal, Tab, Mog or Tom died, what then?” Adora was silent for a long time. “I don’t think Catra would forgive herself.”

“She didn’t do it. They chose to fight against the First Ones.” Adora mumbled.  
“Because the First Ones -- not all of them are great.”  
“They got desperate trying to defeat Prime. Sometimes war makes you lose sight of things.”  
“Prime’s gone now,” Glimmer pointed out, “so why are they still intervening with other planets?”  
“I don’t know. Maybe the war scared them? Maybe they fear another threat?”  
“So they go to other planets and drain them dry. What happens to the people on those planets?”  
“I just think we don't know the whole truth.”  
“Well, what I see is the Therans are fighting for their home. Just like we would.”  
“It’s not the same.”

“How isn’t it?” Glimmer demanded. “And if we drag Catra away from this and her friends died, she would know she could have helped and choose not to. That would hurt her.”

“Glimmer, are you listening to yourself?” Adora sighed. “We’re Catra’s friends.”  
Glimmer rolled her eyes. “Fine. Yes. We’re Catra’s friends. Those Therans are her family.”  
“That’s a stretch.”  
“She said it herself!”

“If it meant surviving an even more dangerous war, she’d walk away. She always told me she doesn’t need more.”

“More than what?” Glimmer questioned, then it clicked. “More than you?”  
“No, that’s not what I~”

“Maybe she doesn’t, but you know what? She has it now, and from what I’ve seen, it seems to make her quite happy.” Glimmer finally said it, what had been bothering her for some time now as she watched Adora stew and stew. “Maybe you just don’t want her to have more? Maybe part of you wants her to feel like she needs you to rely on, because you want so badly to feel useful to someone, and you’ve gotten used to her being that person for her.”

“That’s not it at all!”  
“Adora, be honest with me,” Glimmer sighed, “Why did you attack Princess De’va?”  
“You know about that?”  
“Everyone knows about that!” Glimmer growled.  
“She attacked me first!”

“From our room, right?” Glimmer inhaled and held her breath for a moment. “Even if she threw the first punch, you had no business over there that late at night. You antagonized her. Look, I don’t know what’s been going on in that head of yours lately, but everyone around here is calling you Princess Adora.”

“So what? I’m still me.”

“Of course you’re still you!” Glimmer agreed, “but I don’t think you understand the nature of how your responsibilities might have changed. If they’re calling you the Princess, they consider you a leader. If you blow up and keep saying awful things about the Therans every single time someone mentions what happened to me or Tab’s name or how close Catra’s gotten to the crew on the Purrsia -- what do you think the First Ones will believe about the Therans? What does that mean for the alliance they have? You need to think about the consequences.”

Adora’s blue eyes were watering as she glared at Glimmer. “You sound just like your Mom.”

Glimmer flinched as if she had been burned. Her expression schooled into something cooler, cold even. “If Catra says she wants to help the Therans, I’m staying. Bow says he will too. You can do whatever you want to, Adora, stay, go, pick what’s best for you, but do it in a way that doesn’t put everyone else in a terrible position, that’s all I ask.” With a flash, Glimmer had left the room and Adora let her head hit the wall behind her.

“I’m such an idiot.” She sulked, sighing to herself before she decided to sneak out of the room. She felt cooped up now, and needed a walk to breathe and manage the fury that was hitting her hard. She slipped on her red jacket, placed the sword of protection on her arm as a bracer and began to listen out, going down corridors where less noise travelled back to her. Eventually she found a spot on the observation deck, and sighed when she was interrupted.

“What?” She didn’t mean to be short, but the young man beside her backed up a few steps. Adora found herself face to face with Duncan.

“Sorry Princess Adora, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Adora took a breath, looking him over  
“I’m getting a little tired of this Princess thing...if I have to be honest. It’s stressful.”

“I’m sorry if I add to that stress. I honestly want to do well by you, Princess.” Adora cringed at Duncan’s stumble and vaguely wondered if this was how Glimmer felt growing up: surrounded by people who wanted to do anything for her, but none of them were people she could regard as friends -- just subjects. It was a weird feeling. “I see your friend, Queen Glimmer is doing well.”

“Yeah.” Adora answered without much commitment. Duncan leaned on the wall beside her.  
“Something is still bothering you, isn’t it?”

“A lot of this is new, is all.” Adora felt like her head spun just thinking about it. “I’m glad though, that Glimmer and Bow are doing a lot better.”

“I heard you visited the Theran Princess late last night.”  
Of course that was making its way around. Adora forced a smile. “It was a misunderstanding.”  
“I noticed neither Prince Adam nor her have made a statement. Tongues wag, you know.”  
“I’d rather not talk about this.” Adora glared at him. He shrugged haplessly.

“Her lover is bound to visit. The moment Tabby Manx leaves Purrsia, they are within our jurisdiction. If you want to talk to them about things, or set up a trial, that might be the best time.”

Adora pursed her lips. “You promise you’ll tell them it’s just for a talk?” She asked.  
“Of course. I’m not trying to make trouble. I just noticed how much it weighs on you.”

There was hesitation. A panic and then the plunge. “Do it.”  
“Very well, as is your command.”

“Also, give me some space? I need some time alone.” He nodded and slipped away. Something about the steelyness of her expression must have made it clear to others that she didn’t want to be disturbed as no one else came up to her. She was thankful for it, for peace and quiet, for nothing to do but look at the stars.

“Am I just jealous?” She murmured to herself. “No way. Why would I be jealous? I’ll try talking to Tabby. Maybe how weird Catra’s been will make sense if I ask them.” She sighed. “Considering trying to talk to Mal went so poorly. Ugh, I can’t believe I did that!”

A low, alto voice caught her ears.

“I was wondering if you were ever going to leave your room.” Adora flinched, and caught blue eyes in the reflection of the window. “Cooled off yet?”

“From what? De’va throwing things at my head?” Adora’s gaze flickered to a clean shaven Adam, his hand landed on her shoulder and he squeezed it. Hard.

“This is getting old, Adora. Even if she started it, going to her room in the middle of the night like that can and is interpreted as being the aggressor here. Not to mention you did that with a flipping weapon in your hand, no less.” His voice was gentle, but his expression stern. “Magus Angora just about snapped when he heard, and I spent all this morning convincing him not to report the events to the rest of the leaders of Blades of Maud until I cleaned house.” 

“Well I’m sorry my presence has been inconvenient for you.”

“Get your head out of your butt, would you?” Adora noticed the sheen of exhaustion that clung to him. “There’s been a certain tension on board, if you haven’t noticed. This may be Starship Eternia, but I’ve known that De’va has had her plants disguising themselves with magic among my numbers for years. I don’t know their faces, but they’ve been leaving me noticeable signs that they exist and they’re ready to fight for their Queen as soon as she says the word.” 

“I didn’t mean to cause you so much trouble.” Adora looked away from him. “Sorry.”

“I know you didn’t, which is why I’m going to very kindly inform you of something,” Adam let go of her shoulder “The sooner you go over there and make up with De’va, the easier it’s going to be for everyone, trust me on this.”

“Thanks Adam, but it’s my problem, not yours.”

“It stopped being your problem alone when you made it a scene.” Adam’s voice took a sharp edge to it, and Adora recoiled noticeably, her jaw locked, her eyes grew flinty.

“Fine. I’ll do it under one condition.” Adora lifted her chin. “Tabby Manx needs to apologize to Glimmer and make it up to her for shooting her.”

“Adora. We as in Eternia, now, are the aggressor against our allies.” Adam warned. “We have no room to make demands of Princess De’va. Please understand our position.”

“Tabby shot Glimmer.” Adora reminded him. “If that didn’t happen we wouldn’t be here.”  
“I don’t mean to be rude, but in terms of Eternian-Pantheran politics, your friend doesn’t matter!”  
“You can’t just say that!”

“From a political stance, it would be like any other soldiers who had a friendly fire incident. Neither of them would be considered representatives of their Kingdoms, and so they would be handled as individuals. A formal investigation with representatives of both Panthera and Eternia’s choosing would be done, De’va and I would smooth things over, Tabby and Glimmer would patch things up between them or not as they personally deemed appropriate, we would dole out punishments if necessary and we would all move on.” Adam shook his head. “The moment you put hands on the Theran Princess -- someone who DOES represent Panthera as a whole, as someone who now represents Etheria -- you escalated things far beyond the scope of the original issue.” Before she could say anything to rebuke the accusation, she heard a voice she realized she hadn’t been hearing as much as she’d like.

“Prince Adam! We need to talk!”

Adam seemed to have paused, as if to collect himself before he turned around. Adora did so with him and Catra looked from one sibling to the other, her mouth set into a hard line as if she was assessing them both and not quite sure what to make of them here, together. Melog was with her, Adora noticed. The strange cat was glowing red and hissing, and frankly judging by the brief shine of panic in her brother’s eyes, drawing far too much attention.

“Good morning, Princess Catra.” Adam dipped his head.

“Don’t call me that.” It was almost a snarl and Adora felt her heartbeat kick up. Catra didn’t like it. Didn’t like the trappings of royalty, least that’s what she was hoping. After all, if staying meant being something Catra didn’t want to be, perhaps that would be a reason to go home?

“Very well, feel free to call me Adam then. We are equals after all.” Adam was all glib and charm and it rubbed Adora the wrong way. She opened her mouth to say something but Adam caught her eye and she thought better of it. “You seem rather upset about something.” He tried to coax her gently. “Perhaps we should go somewhere quiet to talk about this matter?”

“What are you doing Adam?” Catra responded with suspicion. “Trying to hide?”  
Adam squared his shoulders, leveled his voice. “Of course not. What can I do for you Catra?”

“What did you do to Mal?” It was an accusation. Adora felt that flush again. That frustration with Catra’s willingness to engage in open confrontation. “She was in better health yesterday.”

“That I can’t deny.” Adam’s response was pastiche, and he almost yelped when Catra reached for him by the collar and tugged hard. Adam’s eyes darted around the deck. Adora could literally see his mind working, panicking about the scene. “Didn’t she tell you what happened?”

“I’m pretty sure she’s lying to me.” Catra growled. “To cover for you, most likely. I know you two are close friends, so tell me Adam, why did you do it?” Adora’s eyes widened at that news.

“I thought you said you could trust Mal?” The words were out of Adora’s mouth before she could stop herself. Adam made a show of losing his balance, stomping on Adora’s foot hard to shut her up. Adora quickly got the message.

“Look, you have every right to be angry.” Adam told her.  
“What the hell did you do to her, asshole?” Catra hissed.

“I didn’t do anything, promise, but we -- Princess De’va and I both -- know who did.” He held up both of his hands, “as head of this ship, I bear full responsibility for failing my duties. I know Theran customs take hospitality very seriously. I took Princess De’va in -- so it is on me that she was further harmed on my watch.” That seemed to abate Catra’s irritation. “I may not have committed the actions in question, but again, as the one in charge, I might as well have been, and I accept accountability for it.” Adora noticed her tail was still fluffed. She was still furious.

“Who did it?”  
“I will tell you it was an Eternian. Nothing more.” Adam played carefully.

“Who?” Catra’s hand curled into a fist and Adam looked around the room again and quietly put his hand over Catra’s fist and pulled it down. She gritted her teeth when he held it there.

“Listen, we don’t want to cause a scene.” Adam’s voice dropped to a soft whisper. “Please?”  
“You screwed up!”

“I know. I’m doing everything I can to make it right before it explodes and causes problems for the Eternian-Pantheran alliance.” Adam’s voice was quiet enough that only Adora and Catra could make out the words. “Princess De’va probably never mentioned this to you, but there are other Therans on board constantly keeping her updated on everything that happens.”

“There are other Therans!?” Catra asked in disbelief. Loudly.

“Shhh.” Adam let her fist go to put a finger to her lips. “We have an agreement. Just between her and I, about this and to keep it quiet. The arrangement was made because the Theran forces operate in small cells. They’re often hunted down, so it made sense to go more covert.”

“By that Chief guy?” Catra pieced together.

“Uh-huh, Chief Carnivus works alongside my Dad,” Adam looked to Adora, “Our Dad, King Randor. Carnivus knows De’va could amass quite a bit of support behind her so he’s trying to take the ground out from under her. De’va and Magus Angora decided small autonomous cells protected their people best. Anyways,” Adam sighed, his voice still quiet, “her spies in my ranks was a compromise.”

“For what?”

“For me to take the lead on the military front with a big, noticeable presence and leave the guerilla warfare to her people. It allowed her the oversight she would have had if our troops were a mixed force. It’s an accountability thing we agreed to.”

“Okay, so the person who did this is one of Chief Carnivus’ men? Did we get a spy from them?”

Adam shook his head. “It’s not that, but it’s something to handle delicately. I know I’m in no right to ask Catra, but De’va -- no, Mal and I would both greatly appreciate it if you just gave me some time to handle this in a way that won’t have Therans and Eternians turning on each other.”

Catra looked at Adam for a long moment before looking at Adora. Adora’s eyes found Catra’s and she could have sworn her heart was going to stop beating. “Is he telling the truth, Adora?”

“He is.” Mostly, but Adora didn’t say that word out loud. Catra’s eyes watched her for a long moment before she backed away from Adam. 

“I’ll leave it to you.” Catra decided. “For now. You have until tomorrow. Tab’s visiting Mal tonight and I’m not going to be able to talk around that forever.” Adora was surprised at that when she heard Tab’s name, then felt a sense of dread when the man she had spoken to earlier -- Duncan -- caught her eye from over Adam’s shoulder and nodded to her. Wait. No. Oh no.

“I’ll be quick to resolve this, I promise.” Adam assured, then bowed. “Catra? Thank you.”

“No problem. I’m going to look for Glimmer now. Adora,” she reached for the blond, “you wanna come? Let’s have dinner like we did around the campfires?”

“I…” Adam clapped a heavy hand on her shoulder and looked to Catra.

“She’ll join you in a bit.” He grinned. Catra’s ears drooped but she nodded, “We just have a quick family thing to discuss. Mind if I borrow her? I won’t be long.”

“Right. Family.” Catra’s voice was tight. “See you later Adora.”  
“Later.”

Catra headed off down the hall towards the mess. It was a solid minute or two before Adam spoke, as if he was trying to ensure Catra was no longer in hearing distance. He raised his arm and tapped the surface of his bracer. A hologram screen popped up and Teela greeted them.

[“What can I do for you, Adam?”]

“Hi Teela! Put this one in for the treaty books: If Panthera needs scientific collaboration, we’ll let them have it and give them 75% ownership of the patents.”

[“That’s extremely generous of you. What suddenly brought this on?”]

“De’va just saved my ass again and gave me time to clean up a certain someone’s mess.” He pointed his thumb at Adora. She rolled her eyes.

[“Cleaning up your dirt. Sounds like her. Alright, done. Anything else?”]

“Run interference with Tabby Manx if they show up on the gangplank?” Adora felt a warning bubble up in her throat but she caught it before she could speak it. “Keep them from wandering far from De’va’s room if you can.”

[“Oh joy. That great, huh?”]  
“Please?” Adam pleaded. Teela rolled her eyes.  
[“Fine, but if they pitch a fit I’m sending them to you, telling them you wanted to talk.”]  
“Thank you Teela! You’re a peach!”

Adora waited for the call to end and then sighed and looked at her brother, who had his eyes closed as he rubbed his chin and hummed.

“So…” Adora started.  
“So.” Adam echoed.  
“Why didn’t you tell her it was me?”  
“Because De’va didn’t, and if De’va didn’t, she had a damn good reason.” Adam explained.  
“Why would she do something like that?”

“Oh, don’t get her wrong, she’s not doing you a favour. This was all political maneuvering.”  
“You mean manipulation. She’s trying to make me owe her by being gracious, isn’t she?”

“Ordinarily, given the amount of trouble you gave her and her childhood vindictive streak erring on humiliating others I wouldn’t put her above such an idea.” He admitted, “She grew the hell up though. If I may be frank, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t give a damn about you.” Adora wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or offended by that. 

“Then why do it?”

Adam hummed. “she’s trying to buy us time. Me, specifically, so I can get everyone to mellow out a bit instead of this exploding like a powder keg. See -- Catra? She must have thought I did the attack and you could tell she was willing to cause a commotion over that -- which would make everything worse. What would Catra have done if she found out it was you?”

Adora found herself saying words about Catra she would never expect to. “I don’t know.”

“There’s a chance the other Therans would be willing to take Catra’s go ahead to lash out if she gave it. De’va may not have publicly announced Catra’s a princess, but there’s enough whispers that they know of the possibility and might respond to Catra as an authority figure now.”

“So you’re saying she did this for Catra? Or rather to keep Catra from making things worse?”  
“In a sense?” Adam asked more than answered. He sighed. “Arrgh. I hate this sort of thing.”  
“So how do we fix it?”  
“You publicly apologize to De’va. I don’t think a private one’s going to cut it anymore.”  
Adora groaned. “Do I have to? I mean, it’s not like Tabby ever~”

Adam got so still and so quiet it was frightening as he stared and stared.

“Okay. I’ll do it. Okay.”

*

Tab tried not to get annoyed with Teela. They really did, but at some point you knew someone was stalling. When it became clear to them both that Tab was at a point of snapping, Teela graciously let them get through instead of pestering them with question after question. They fidgeted with their collar and gulped down air as they moved. Left foot. Right. Left. Right.

They paused at the doorway, taking in the room. Typical Adam showing off what Tab didn’t have: it was a room with a view. The window was large, and Tab knew it was chosen specifically to indulge Mal’s love of star gazing. She was doing that now, her golden eyes -- she had her choker back on -- flicking off to the side ever so slightly, but she didn’t acknowledge Tab, not at all. Tab looked around to find flowers in the room, a colourful arrangement of mostly reds and blues. The blue in particular was a fascinating teal colour, strange and not from this Galaxy, but rather their home Galaxy, Felis. Red and Blue -- Adam and Mal’s favourite colours respectively with purple balancing the bouquet. Beneath the floral scent though, Tab could tell. Adam had been here recently. Very recently in fact. Probably every day knowing him, while Tab was just dragging themselves in now, tail between their legs.

The Captain of the Purrsia felt like a joke.

Tab stood there watching as Mal watched the stars moving outside her window. Despite the bandages and the bracing, she seemed so beautiful, so pure, her fingers linked around the collar. Tab felt a warmth spread throughout their body, a calming sensation and knew for sure by how the pheremones changed in the air that confirmed Mal, without doubt, knew Tab was here. 

“You’re here earlier than I expected, Lovely. Catra said she had to help you with your hair.”  
“I decided I couldn’t keep you waiting any longer. Three weeks was...too long.”

“I hardly noticed.” Mal’s tone was cheeky. Tab felt something hot stab at their chest. “I was sleeping for most of it you know, hardly worth a visit just to watch me sleep, is it?”

“Don’t lie. I know you can sense others’ presence. The nightmares must have been awful.”  
“Lybica helped me out,” Mal gave a small smile, “so it wasn’t too bad.”

Tabby felt their breath catch at that. Lybica. Sweet Lybica who saved them from the Horde Labs. Lybica whom people use to praise would one day save all Therans. Lybica the Liberator they would call her in whispered tones the first few years after she went missing. After ten years they began to be convinced she wasn’t coming back, and Devon’s death made them realize the wild card that was De’va might be their one and only hope. Mal hated it. Hated being compared to the ghosts of people long gone and always coming up short.

Tabby went back to watching Mal watch the stars. Gosh, she really was beautiful as always, her hair brushed smooth -- probably with Catra’s help -- falling about her shoulders and reaching her mid back. It was odd she hadn’t turned around, but Tab brushed it off as Mal indulging in one of her few but dear passions. It wasn’t often she got the chance to just sit and see what, if any, constellations she could recognize.

“You’re so quiet, and so still.” Mal began, “and so far. It’s not like you.” She noted softly. Tabby felt a little uncomfortable. It was true, it wasn’t like them. They haven’t been like themselves in some time now. Something had been missing. Mal had been missing. “Won’t you sit with me, Lovely?” Mal asked softly, patting the left side of the bed without turning. Tab stayed rooted in place, searching for words, for thoughts, for reasons, for something.

“I brought flowers from our ship.” Tab tried, feeling hot shame creep up their neck. Their flowers were ratty things compared to Adam’s beautiful bouquet. “They went a little wild. What didn’t dry up and die, I mean. I’m hopeless with those things. I guess they missed you as much as I did.”

“Tab,” Mal leaned into her pillows and sighed, eyes fixed on the window and the stars beyond it. “Sit with me.” She echoed. Tab took a breath and moved one step, two step, and stopped.

“I’m sorry I didn’t have anything fancier after three weeks.” Tab tried again, trying to make the words make sense, glancing at Adam’s bouquet again. “If we were planet side, I’d find you food you’d like or maybe a trinket? I mean, flowers were never much your thing anyways.”

“They die once you cut them. I always found that sad.” Mal spoke hauntingly. “I don’t need anything.” Tab flinched and stared at their boots. Mal sighed, her eyes closing. “Tab, just sit.”

“I’m sorry I’m weak.” Tab found the words were rushing to their mouth, “I blow up at the worst moments when all you need is for me to just stay my hand and not make shit worse. You just woke up but you’re probably cleaning up mess after mess and it’s all my fault and~”

“Sit down Tabby.” Mal’s voice was stern and she now turned to face Tab. “Please.” Her tone softened. Tab shuffled forward, like their feet were made of lead. They got to Mal’s bedside, and she looked Tab over, her fingers immediately drifting to the nape of Tab’s neck as Tab sat. She took in the sight, the messy, rough scissor cuts in the back clashing with the far more even, neat styling in the front. Lips pressed tight together. Her fingers tangled in white strands, missing the feel of the long almost waist length braid that Tab once sported. “You...cut your hair?”

“Yeah, ah-um,” Tab looked away, not meeting Mal’s eyes, “does it look good? Like a proper mate of the Queen should?” Tab felt their heart quicken when Mal’s breath hitch.

“But you liked your hair long,” Mal sounded on the verge of tears, “you loved it that way.”

“I’m sorry, it was stupid, I’m sorry!” Tab tried to stand and move away, but Mal caught their wrist and squeezed it hard, almost to the point of pain. “I’m sorry.” They whispered, rooted in place. 

“Sit down, Tab.” Mal repeated, with an edge to her voice. Tab complied immediately. Mal sighed again, smoothing fingers over Tab’s wrist. “Stop running, Lovely. No matter how bad it gets. No matter how poorly you think I might think of you for having your little moments or how poorly you worry others think of you because of who you are.” She stressed. “It has never been your responsibility to play a role for me. If I wanted a tom to have kittens with, be territorial and protective of me, trust me, I would have found him already.”

Tab blinked sheepishly. “Well, you are beautiful enough to have any Theran you want.” A small smile touched Mal’s lips, “and any Eternian too.” Mal’s smile faded. She beckoned Tab to lean forward, her fingers brushing teasingly on the underside of their jaw. Tab leaned forward and she pressed a soft kiss to their nose. Her hands reached for Tab’s bouquet and she placed it down on the side table beside the vase with Adam’s flowers. Her other hand found Tab’s and placed it at her hip.

“I chose you.” Mal breathed. “Just trust in my decision. Trust in us. Please, Lovely?” Mal’s fingers brushed Tab’s messy, uneven bangs back, kissing their temple. “I’m going to miss that long braid of yours for a while. I thought it made you look really gorgeous.”

“Really?” Tab sounded unconvinced. “You didn’t think it made me look less...powerful?”

“Never.” Mal assured. “If anything it did the opposite. Once we cut your hair to be a bit more even and stylish, maybe we can do some small braids? That would make you look absolutely adorable, wouldn’t it?” She managed a small, sad smile. “If we’re lucky, I might be able to weave a few flowers into it too.” Mal offered, kissing lightly along Tab’s jaw.

“Yeah.” Tab mumbled, distracted and seemingly distant, gasping sharply when Mal’s teeth grazed at a pulsepoint. “Maybe we could do that.”

“The nice thing about hair is,” Mal was struggling to keep her voice even, “it does grow back. So if you ever want to have your hair long again, we just need to be patient with it.” Worry flashed in her eyes. “There will be this weird in between stage as it grows out, sure.” Mal kept her hands from touching Tab’s hair, torn between wondering if the gesture would be soothing or triggering for them. “Maybe we can find some cute clips for it next time we’re at a market? Make you feel really pretty, okay Lovely?” Before Tab could say anything else or pull away, Mal’s lips crashed against theirs. Her tongue found theirs quickly, and her fingers slipped underneath the open front of Tab’s shirt. Fingers slid against the fabric and skin beneath. Tab took in a sharp breath and was breathless when Mal pulled away.

“You know, your doctor’s gonna yell at me if your heart rate jumps too much.” Tab joked.  
“You taste like booze.” Mal’s voice was so small. “And is that a binder under your…?”  
“Yes. I thought~”  
“That you needed to look more like what people expect the Queen’s lover to be.” Mal finished.  
Tab opened their mouth, then closed it. Then finally: “You saw this conversation, didn’t you?”

“You know how it is for me.” Mal’s voice was very quiet. “First there’s so many possibilities. Ten. Twenty. Sometimes even thirty of them.” Her head leaned forward until it rested on Tab’s collarbone. “Then slowly as certain events get closer or happen they narrow down,” Tab’s fingers ran though Mal’s hair to sooth her. Clearly whatever Mal saw in this version, she didn’t like. She was practically shaking. “one by one they disappear. I can do nothing but watch, hope and pray that I can nudge the direction of things to something better, even if just slightly.”

“Hey,” Tab reassured, “Whatever version we end up with, we’ll make it work. You know that.”

“This was the one I wanted the least.” Mal whispered. Tab tried to quell the panic that swelled in their throat when Mal’s eyes teared up, but Mal just kissed them again, and again, and again. Her left hand slipped to the back of her neck and before Tab could figure out what Mal was doing, they felt something leather press into their hand. “Keep it close.” 

Tab pulled away to find Mal’s collar in their hand and looked at it in horror. “Wait! I - I know I screwed up,” they stuttered, looking at Mal -- no, De’va’s mismatched eyes and the markings on her chest and face. “but we’re not over are we?” Mal’s hand found Tab’s cheek, cupping it, “Just like that? No warning. No talk. Really Grima?” A gentle kiss. Mal’s forehead against theirs.

“I’m sorry Lovely,” Came Mal’s response. “but I’m going to have to earn that back from you.”

“Grima, don’t be silly!” Tab forced a laugh and noticed Mal flinch away at the sound, her hand drawing back. “There’s nothing you could ever do that would require you to earn it back!”

Another kiss. “Don’t fight them, Lovely,” then another, “it will only make things worse.”  
“Grima?” Tab panicked. “You sound scared. You never sound scared, unless it's a nightmare.”  
“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you from this.” This kiss lingered.

Footsteps. Synchronized ones. Tab looked almost like a lost child when the two Eternians came into the room. There were two others behind them, quiet, unnoticed. Mal caught their eyes and mouthed the word ‘Don’t’ to those figures. As soon as they appeared, they disappeared again.

“You’re Tabby Manx, right?” Called the man on the left. Tab looked to Mal, feeling like their stomach had launched into their throat. “You are the Theran known as Tabby Manx, right?”

“Yes. That’s...that’s me.” Tabby managed to force the words  
“You are being taken into custody.”  
Tab took a steady breath. “For what?”  
“Aggravated assault and attempted murder.”

“Who are you, and by whose order are you acting on?” Mal’s voice boomed, carrying easily. The men straightened up as they caught the tone, that of a monarch making a demand.

“Ah, I’m Duncan, Princess De’va, and this Malcom~”  
“Queen.” Mal cut him off.  
“I-I beg your pardon?”  
“I am not the Princess of Panthera.” Mal stressed. “I am the Queen.”  
“Queen De’va.” Duncan stuttered.  
“Who gave this order?”  
“Princess Adora.”

“Thank you gentlemen.” Mal’s tone was crisp, “I will be speaking to the Crown Prince of Eternia about this matter personally. Know that I expect the humane treatment of your prisoner.” 

“Please allow our leave, your Majesty.” Duncan asked. Mal gave a stiff nod.

Tab looked over to Mal who stared, barely breathing, barely moving. Their eyes met and Mal mouthed three words. ‘Don’t. Fight. Them.’ Chest heaving, Tab stuck their hands in front of them, and didn’t flinch when handcuffs were tightened around each wrist too tightly. When Tab looked back over to Mal, her eyes were firmly trained to her lap, where her hands were tightly clasped together. A subtle sign of barely held self restraint.

“I’ll get you out as soon as I can, I promise.” Mal’s words were a rush of air, but Tab caught each of her words anyways and gave a reassuring smile.

“I trust you, Grima. Always have.”

Tab was sure as they were led away from Mal’s room that they heard something be thrown. Something like glass. The vase with the flowers. It hit the wall across the room resulting in a large crash before it was replaced by a fit of sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was fun to follow Adora for most of this chapter and to see how confused her thoughts were and how pressured she felt. Then to have Adam be all like "stop being a shithead"
> 
> For the first time I have a scene with just OCs for the most part (until the end) I was debating this for a LONG time, but I felt, twenty-two chapters in, there has been enough fleshed out for both of them to make this land emotionally.
> 
> And my was it a devastating write. I hope you could really feel Mal's devastation as she realized Tab really wasn't okay.
> 
> On that, it brings me to a point on Tab that gets to be a little more apparent later perhaps? They are non-binary (as their pronouns indicate) purely because they feel like they have always existed outside of the binary. I've hinted a bit at the root of why that is, and I'm debating whether or not it has to be explicitly said. What I will say on this so far is Tab does identify as being a mix of male and female or rather flowing between the two (with, as Mal's indicated in this chapter and Tab themselves in the last, a preference for things people consider traditionally feminine) but they would hesitate to identify with the label "Trans" as they never really felt like they were transitioning -- they simply are.
> 
> Anyways, one of the things that I hope gets through is that their society makes Tab feel pressured that they ought to conform to an "appropriate" binary expression. Something that gets under Tab's skin more when they are with a Cis partner, and especially with Mal in particular whom -- as Adam pointed out a few chapters ago -- would have undue pressure on her to eventually have kids. In this case, since Mal is female the "appropriate" binary expression Tab feels pressured into is to present as male, hence the hair cut in an ugly moment of despair turned self hatred turned into one of Tab's rare moments of dysphoria (they don't experience it often). 
> 
> Mal knows that since she's accepted Tab's identity and body as the beautiful things they are...this is a very big red flag that Tab isn't doing well, and even worse? She knows what will happen next meaning she can't help.
> 
> Anyways...NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> In the background of the broadcast, chanting could be heard. Four words. Five syllables. ‘Long Live Queen De’va’. Soon, Queen De’va held up her hands to beckon the crowd to quiet.
> 
> “Blood is not what we crave, no matter what those who misunderstand us may say. Yes. We are warriors. Proud warriors, but the greatest joy of battle will always be returning home safely to our families! For our freedom, for a future our children can be proud of where we all decide our own destinies, in this moment we must be Red in Tooth and Red in Claw!”


	23. "Suits me? More like I've broken bones to make myself fit."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra finds herself uncomfortable at how officially becoming 'Queen De'va' makes Mal nearly unrecognizable.  
> Glimmer tries to help another Queen who finds wearing the crown to be just as strangling as she does.  
> Adam and Adora help save captured Therans hoping it will act as damage control for rising tensions.  
> Queen De'va sets a trap for a spy and plans on making Panthera's place in the Alliance clear to all.  
> Catra decides it's time Adora fixes the mess she has created and is ready to call Adora to task.
> 
> CW: for drug use/prescription abuse, prisoner abuse and mentions of suicide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured you folks would love a second update this week if my brain cooperated, so here I am!
> 
> I honestly think this is partially because I like leaving it on a prime number chapter if it might be slower to get to the next update. Prime numbers are like good luck or something.
> 
> That and I'm realizing I wouldn't mind a slightly narrower buffer. Not that I am writing at the speed of light or anything, just, this isn't my first rodeo (it's just been a few years since I had some sort of writing account on a website and started posting regularly) and I forgot that when you're doing a chapter by chapter experience, a good part of that experience is engaging with the folks who are kind enough to leave reviews. When you're writing too far ahead of what they are currently reading, it kind of makes you feel this sort of disconnect and that in turn can lead to fatigue in this type of writing. To give you an idea, at the time of this note, I am half way through Chapter 28 and have the ending scene of Chapter 29 written (I don't always write linearly for the story). There is a lot between this chapter and chapter 28, so it feels like in my head I'm on a different planet than you folks are (haha, that might be more literal than intended).
> 
> I also am anticipating I will have to go to once a week updates at some point in the near future as I have finally been landing more job interviews and am trying to get back on my feet again by having something finally pan out.
> 
> Anyways, as always, your reviews are appreciated and I look forward to replying to each and every one. :) Please feel free to leave kudos as well.
> 
> Also: If Tab/Mal had a theme song, I feel 'Night Running' (The ED from the anime BNA - Brand New Animal) would be a shoe in. Thought I'd share that. It's sort of melancholic and hopeful at the same time.

Hey Adora,

You got what you wanted. (I hope you’re happy.)

You say you’re sorry, but I’m not sure I buy it. This isn’t like you. You never needed me or wanted me around when you ran off to join the Rebellion. You went and got your new friends -- people you told me were like family, and dropped me and everyone in the Horde like we didn’t exist. I didn’t plan on doing the same thing to you, but I got stuck in space. It just happened that Mal and the others found me. Now that it’s me, you’re not okay with it?

I don’t like it. It’s petty.

What the hell Adora?

I hope you’re satisfied with yourself.  
Catra

*

“Man, those Blades of Maud sure know their technological warfare.” Came a murmur that Catra could pick out. Her eyes drifted to the screen, then to another and watched as someone changed the channel several times, only for all of them to come back to the same image.

A Theran woman with striking eyes: one gold, one blue. Those eyes were even more prominent with the eyeliner she wore: a crimson few would think to try. Her hair was buzzed to an undercut on one side and left long on the other. A neatly styled four strand braid acted as the border between, and something about the contrast gave her an edge. Her lips were painted with a bold red a different shade than that around her eyes, all the more for drawing attention to her lips. The other thing that caught the eye was the gleaming crown full of reddish gems on her head.

“To all you at every corner of the Verse who bear the blood of Panthera in your veins, I pray to the Goddess Lynx that this message finds you well.”

Catra grasped the glass in between her hands and took a small sip. Her eyes darted further in the room and found Tom and Mog at a table. She shifted her feet to brush Melog on the floor beneath the table and got a coo. Catra bit her lip and Melog rubbed up against her leg. Quietly, she pet Melog’s head, attention drawn back to the television.

“My name is De’va D’Riluth. The youngest daughter and child of her late Majesty C’yra D’Riluth the second. For those who recognize my name, I’m sure you’ve heard many things about me. Some, I assure are true, some not. I will not tell you what to believe, for I wish you, and all of Panthera to be free people. Let me let you draw your own conclusions from what I have to say.”

Bow slid into the seat beside Catra with a drink in hand. “The ground forces landed.”  
“Good for them.” Catra sighed. Melog nipped at Bow’s pants and she frowned. “Stop it.”  
“Everyone’s okay. Including Adam and Adora.” Bow gently pried his pant leg free.  
Catra grit her teeth. “Good.” She managed. “Any sign they’re gonna call us up?”

“So far everything seems to be going okay.” He ducked under the table, handing something to Melog. Some sort of treat going by the happy coo he got. “Good girl.”

“We need to help Tallstar. Every second we don’t, Kittrina could be hurting her siblings.”  
“Good thing when Mal was planning this strike she found out where Starla was.”  
“Now we just wait, right?”  
“Right. Mal’s plan looks pretty solid. Tom and Mog said they’re ready.” Bow paused. “What?”  
“Just the four of us and Tallstar? Something doesn’t seem right.”

Catra’s eyes turned back to the television broadcast.

“I have walked among many types of people, come to know many types of grief and suffering. In that time I have built myself up for this moment. A moment where with the help of those who I have sworn to serve as their Queen, I will tear down false Kings who sit on their thrones of lies and deceit. Take this as my official declaration. To Chief Carnivus: the righteous will see through your lies and you will pay for your crimes. To King Randor -- we do not wish to engage with you, but should you refuse to see that Eternia is only working to replace the reign of terror the Horde inflicted upon us all with a reign of terror of your own, we will have no choice but to act.”

Catra rattled the ice in her glass and Bow’s eyes stayed glued to the screen listening to the speech for a while, the words washing over her. 

“Hard to believe she was in such rough shape a month ago.” Bow observed.  
“She’s faking it.” Catra dismissed. “If you watch her eyes closely, she’s trying not to wince.”  
“Oh...I see it now.” Bow noted. 

“My aspirations are small. My sister’s safety. My niece’s freedom. Returning honour to the D’Riluth name, but most importantly, leading Panthera to Prosperity and Peace, like you all have prayed to the Goddess for. Know that she has heard your cries, and I have been sent to answer the call, but I cannot do it alone. I will fight with every ounce of strength and will I have. The Blades of Maude stand with me. What remains of the order of the Cait Sith that was destroyed by the usurper stand with me. Master Magus Angora stands with me. If this message reaches your ears, please I beg you to stand with me as well. No matter where you are, no matter if you have been lost to your kin or not, stand with me and take back our home.”

In the background of the broadcast, chanting could be heard. Four words. Five syllables. ‘Long Live Queen De’va’. Soon, Queen De’va held up her hands to beckon the crowd to quiet.

“Blood is not what we crave, no matter what those who misunderstand us may say. Yes. We are warriors. Proud warriors, but the greatest joy of battle will always be returning home safely to our families! For our freedom, for a future our children can be proud of where we all decide our own destinies, in this moment we must be Red in Tooth and Red in Claw!”

Catra stood up suddenly and began to file out of the mess hall. Bow called after her, then ran off to catch up. In the hallways, away from screens, she could hear herself think. She walked over to a window and let a sigh slip past her lips. Bow’s steps slowed as he approached her.

“You're going to be okay?”  
“Yeah.” Catra sighed. “How do you think Tab is doing?”  
“Can’t say.” Bow shifted from side to side. “What was it about it?”  
“She seems like she’s forcing herself.”  
“I guess a bit of performance is necessary for these things. At least that’s what Glimmer says.”  
“Where is she, anyways?” Catra asked.  
“She said she had something to do.”

*

Glimmer found it odd, speaking not face to face, each of them standing with their backs to the wall at the corner of the hallway in a way no one would notice they had been together.

“So you’re the Mal I’ve heard so much about.” She crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall, staring at the ceiling. “Or do you prefer ‘Queen De’va’, your Majesty?”

Mal’s laugh was scornful. “I don’t think what I personally prefer matters much anymore.”

Glimmer smirked. “Not bad for your first official speech as Queen, and on an intergalactic stage too! Look at you playing in the big leagues!” She giggled. “I guess I need to up my game.”

“Sounds like you’ve had some experience if you’re talking about it like it’s an old hat.”

“I may know a thing or two about taking a throne you don’t really want.” Glimmer’s smile dimmed. She didn’t bother to move around the corner. If Queen De’va wanted to be seen, she would. “You carry it well. You’re poised. Regal. Elegant. Way more than I am! The crown looks good on you. Suits you.”

“Suits me?” The Queen’s laugh was bitter, “More like I’ve broken bones to make myself fit.”

“That…” Glimmer sighed, “happens a lot too. Believe me. I feel like I’m not the ‘Glimmer’ my friends knew back when my mother was still the Queen. I don’t think I like it.”

“I think I seem to carry it well because I was channeling my mother a little bit, actually.”  
Glimmer smiled sadly. “The hair, right? Fresh haircut? Looks pretty awesome!”  
“I debated making all of it very short,” there was a bit of a laugh, “not quite me though.”

“I’ve cut my hair short specifically to look less like my mother.” Glimmer mused, running a hand over her undercut -- which desperately needed a touch up, “it’s funny how we try to cope.”

“She had something similar early in her reign, but shorter. I always told her it made her look fierce. I couldn’t go there though. I’m not her. I was too sickly for the ‘warrior look’ as a kid.”

Mal sighed. Glimmer closed her eyes and held her breath. Both of them paused in silence.

“I got a rather strange letter from some Eternian soldiers earlier. Turned out, oddly, that it was from you.” Glimmer kept her voice low as she spoke. “I have a feeling those soldiers might not have been First Ones at all. Apparently Theran sorcerers specialize in illusion magic?”

“You got me.” Mal chuckled breathlessly. Glimmer started to hear a clicking noise, almost like claws clicking against metal. From the corner of her eye, Glimmer saw Mal’s white gloved hand tapping the wall. So it was a nervous tick? Small and understated, easily disguised as annoyance, irritation or boredom. The perfect type of small emotional outlet a Queen could allow herself when she wasn’t somewhere secluded and private. It was as sad and worrying as it was clever. “I have no right to be asking favours of you, Queen Glimmer.”

“Adora put you between a rock, a hard place and a bottomless pit.” Glimmer deduced. “I hate to be the one who says it, because it can come across as cold but know I’m saying this because I know what it’s like to be a Queen.” Glimmer paused, then winced at her next words, “is one person worth ending an alliance between two kingdoms you’ve spent over a decade to build?”

“I can’t justify it, not even remotely.” Mal sighed heavily. “I know better. My first love should be Panthera. I should consider myself wed to my people and the mother of our Kingdom’s future.”

“What did Adam have to say about all this? He can help things from falling apart, right?”

That earned a sardonic laugh. “He said ‘let’s just get married now.’ His reasoning was that then we’ll be essentially the same Kingdom and then it won’t matter as much to everyone if he, the Crown Prince of Eternia personally pardons Tab since as the Crown Prince he outranks Adora, and it could be seen as a ‘wedding favour’ to me.” Mal’s tone fell flat in the end and she sighed heavily. “Jackass. I want this alliance, but I also don’t want to throw out a nearly decade long marriage and Panthera’s independence. There has to be another answer.”

“It’s not an easy gig.” Glimmer shifted her weight. “When did you last get decent sleep?”  
“Ten days ago, maybe?”  
“You should get some rest, Queen De’va.”

“Sleeplessness makes it easier to go into a trance state. The more often that happens the more likely I can get a glimpse of...something.” Mal hummed. “See if I’ve averted the worst case.”

“You can’t stop bad things from happening if you’re too tired to think of any way to fix it.”  
“Fair enough, Queen Glimmer.” 

“So you really do see the future, like Adora said?” Glimmer noticed the absent minded rhythm increased in speed. She caught another glimpse of a white gloved hand tapping. “Have to say? Kinda cool.” Glimmer noticed the tapping stopped, leaving silence, “Okay, maybe not so cool?”

“It’s complicated.” Mal explained. “I see possibilities that crystallize as the moment draws near.”  
“Sounds more anxiety inducing than super power.” Glimmer heard the tapping start again.

“Tell me about it,” came a candid reply, “when I was a small child, it was more vague. Flashes, like nightmares that I could barely make sense of. The Cait Sith elders interpreted them for me and told the Royal court. I never had to be aware of what it all meant. Then my powers grew.”

“My teleportation used to be very limited. Then Mom disappeared, and I got the Runestone to myself.” Glimmer paused, licking her suddenly too dry lips. “What made yours change?”

“I changed.” Queen De’va stopped tapping. “I remember falling. Down, and down. A really far distance. I don’t remember the landing, but everything was wet.” Mal inhaled shakily. “It was raining and dark. Night on Terras can make you catch a cold -- you saw -- it’s a sandy planet but when there’s no light from the sun, it drops down to absolutely freezing.”

“So it wasn’t in my head that if we weren’t busy running around fighting, we’d be shivering?”

“Nope, and it rarely rains, so when it does, anyone caught in it is risking hypothermia.” Mal’s hand drifted from the wall, up, to brush back bangs, then back to the wall. “I was soaked to the bone. I remember praying, or maybe wishing? The rest is fuzzy.” she chuckled. “I was about seventeen. My abilities suddenly grew to an overwhelming amount. Between that and everything else that happened I had constant panic attacks. I still get one now and then.”

“You seem to be holding it together well then.”  
“On the surface.” Another self deprecating chuckle. “Means nothing if everything is ruined.”  
“So what’s the worst case scenario?” Glimmer asked, now curious.  
“For Panthera or myself?”

Glimmer paused, choosing her words very carefully. “From one Queen to another,” she began, shaky at first, “Queen De’va, the few people you have in your life who you can simply be yourself with are precious and irreplaceable. They make wearing the crown almost worth it.” 

“Almost?” Mal questioned.  
“Nothing is worth losing your mother far too soon.” Glimmer gave a sad sigh.  
“How true.” Mal paused. “I’m sorry for your loss, Queen Glimmer.”

“Thank you.” Glimmer brushed her hair behind her ear, “I’m sure losing the love of your life is pretty high up there too on the list of terrible things to happen to you as a Queen.” Glimmer added pointedly. She noticed Mal fell into a stony silence. “I’ve dodged that so far, luckily, but my Mom was never the same after we thought Dad was gone forever.” She heard the other woman’s breath catch. “So, what did you see?”

“They find Tab.” Glimmer caught the words as Mal choked them out in a croak. “Dangling.”  
Glimmer caught the implication and shivered. “How many times have you seen that?”  
“Goddess Lynx,” Mal breathed, “I’ve lost count.” her voice broke.  
“And you saw that I could help stop it, right?”  
“Possibly?” Mal whispered. “There’s still so many versions of this going very wrong.”  
“Meaning we aren’t set. Remember that part.” Glimmer pleaded. “There’s still a chance.” 

“Yes.” A hand reached around with a piece of paper. Glimmer took it gently. “A little hope can build someone.” A pause. “It can break someone too. I’ll have to manage this carefully.”

“How long do you have?”  
“It’s tricky. If I jump the gun, the alliance falls apart. If I move too late, Tab is gone.”  
“And the window between those two problems is very narrow?” Glimmer realized the issue.  
“Yes. The last time I saw Tab in person I already knew they were quite unwell.”

Glimmer sighed, rubbing her forehead. “For what it’s worth, I tried to tell Adora to step a little more carefully around this since the First Ones started calling her Princess of Eternia.”

“She wasn’t raised as Royalty. She doesn’t get how far reaching her actions and views are in a position like ours. It’s the same with Catra, but I’ve been trying to gently steer her on that.”

“Yeah, pretty much. If you ask me, you’re doing a much better job with Catra on those matters than Prince Adam seems to be doing with Adora, though.” Glimmer chuckled. 

“That’s because when she isn’t angry, Catra is very meticulous. It’s her strength.” A pause, a sigh, “and because I’m noticeably older than Catra. It makes it easy to see me and take me seriously as a mentor figure. Not to mention, Adam and I are handling this very differently.”

“I noticed. The first thing he did when things calmed down was to announce he found his sister.”

“I don’t fault him. That’s his sister and her loss drove his father to some of this ridiculousness, this stupid war we’re in” Mal sighed, “I’m not going to officially confirm who Catra is unless she wants me to.”

“That’s probably the best idea.” Glimmer agreed. “You know, I’m still angry at Tab for the whole shooting me thing -- but that doesn’t mean I want anything bad to happen to them.” Glimmer paused. “I also don’t think either of you are terrible people who deserve to be miserable because one of my best friends can be a jerk who doesn’t think out her actions sometimes.” Glimmer tucked away the paper. “I’ll figure out how to meet with you for an update.”

“Thank you…” a pause. “Glimmer.”

Glimmer grinned. “No problem, just be careful with your side of the plan, Mal.” Mal tried to peek over the corner, but by time she did, there had already been a flash of pink. Glimmer was gone.

*

Adam had gone through this entire mission without transforming once. It was something Adora was noticing, as She-Ra, as she kicked through another door, busted another wall, kept going and going and going into a press of thick woods and bushes and vines. His sword had left his scabbard a few times, but he never said the words. He slashed with it. Clean cuts to achilles tendons. Slashes for throats.

It made her want to throw up frankly as she tossed yet another person over her head into a tree.

“You’re going to tire yourself out like this!” He called as he circled back for her, not for the first time since they hit the ground around them. The people they fought off looked all, well like them. It wasn’t a Horde robot or strange creatures. They were other Eternians. “Sometimes the killing blow is the safest option to take!”

“I don’t care! I’m not doing it!” Adora called back, ducking when another man came in with a blaster. Adora rushed towards him, ignoring Adam’s call. Just when she thought the blast from the man’s gun would hit him, he was yanked backwards by the throat.

A large cat with bright green eyes stared at Adora and she froze.

“Wait! Wait! She’s part of the alliance!” Adam called from behind her.  
“So this is the ‘Princess Adora’ the others reported on.” Spoke the large cat. Wait. It spoke?

Adam forced a smile. “Long time no see, Percival! You’re the third Theran on this mission I’ve seen who can transform. That means the Royal guard is with us. Why aren’t you with De’va?”

“I think we feel more comfortable keeping an eye on the Princess who attacked our Queen.”

Adam chuckled. “Great. Of course. While we play checkers, De’va is playing Chess.”  
Adora blinked at him. “What do you mean?”

“You may have lit a fire in our tensions with the Therans, but someone took advantage.”  
“You mean they wanted me to order Tab into the prisons?” Adora asked.  
“That’s the working theory.” Adam looked over to the Theran, “Is she really playing bait?”

“We disagreed with her methods, but we will not disobey our Queen.” There was a strange sound of creaking, cracking bones and cartilage, and a Theran with pale, tawny skin and green eyes stood watching them both, but he scowled. “Princess Adora is still considered Persona Non Grata by Panthera, for the record, orchestrator or not.”

Adora mumbled incoherently. “I’m trying to work with you here, can you cut me a break?”

“Start by apologizing to our Queen, profusely.” Percival grumbled before forging ahead, his tail stiff as he walked ahead. “Then make sure to work for us and maybe we can call it even.”

“Does she have to pass out first?” Adam chuckled. Adora blinked.  
“What are you guys going to do to me that will make me pass out?” Adora asked suspiciously.

“One of the favourite punishments of Theran society is physical labour. They believe building something helps people unlearn their destructive behaviour.” Adam crossed his arms, “anyways, if this report about spies is true, then it's safe to assume De’va declining my idea for a solution was mostly because she didn’t think it would solve the underlying issue to our problem?”

“Or maybe she’s just not interested in giving up Panthera’s independence like that traitor, Carnivus did when he usurped and followed your father?” Percival shot back. 

“Haha! That...too.” Adam scratched the back of his neck nervously.

“It was a rather unpopular premise, one that exacerbates Eternian belief of their superiority over us, which,” Percival eyed the Prince sternly, “with all due respect, Prince Adam, truly the issue at the heart of the matter. No pompous, ceremonial marriage will fix that.”

“Ouch.” Adam winced, “I already told her, we’d still technically be two kingdoms even with an official Marriage.” He scratched the back of his neck. “It would just be a dual citizenship thing, and besides, De’va and I are such good friends that we’d be an example to everyone.”

“Wait, you and De’va,” Adora cut in, “De’va and you -- you’re getting married? How? Isn’t she already married?”

“It would be purely for political reasons!” Adam defended both of his hands up in the air as he panically explained, “to strengthen the bond between Eternia and Panthera~”

“It’s more than that, and the very fact that if it happened your marriage would technically annul the one our Queen currently is in only reinforces a message she doesn’t want to send.” Percival grumbled. “Anyways, Prince Adam, we got twenty of the missing back so far.”

“Almost half-way done, already, huh?” Adam sighed, going with the change of topic. “You guys sure are good at this. Efficient. Quick.”

“Time is imperative. They may be on an order to kill our people once rescue is being attempted, so pardon me but we ought to be moving to the next target.”

Adora gave Adam a glance, and followed as Percival led them ahead. They stuck through paths with the densest jungle. Adora found herself using her powers mostly to swat trees around and out of her way. Percival had transformed again, and his much lower stance made navigating the bush much easier for him than his bipedal company. Adam just followed Adora’s wild swinging, taking advantage of her working her frustration out by following in the path she cleared.

“Thanks sis!”  
“Gee. You’re so welcome.”

“Quiet, both of you.” Percival warned, “we’re coming up to the next location.” The woods could be seen coming to an abrupt stop ahead. There were dirt roads, a small settlement, and then a very deep chasm.

“They’re mining.” Adam mused. “And using the prisoners as muscle. For what, exactly?”  
“The mask of power is believed to be somewhere in this galaxy.” Percival asked.

“The Mask of Power?” Adora asked.  
“Said to have the power to destroy the Sword of Protection and Sword of Power.”

“Seems like good old Dad’s getting a little worried about me throwing my weight around with the Therans.” Adam mused, “so he’s looking for a countermeasure?”

“This was ordered by Chief Carnivus, actually.” Percival informed.

“Maybe his aspirations are a little wider than we first believed then.” Adam put together, “does De’va know about this? Does she know what he’s after?”

“His own power, without Eternian oversight is what we suspect. From the start, we believed his collusion with King Randor was really a means to an end for him, much like his apparent agreeableness with the former Queen.” 

“I guess rubbing shoulders with my Dad isn’t doing it for him anymore, so he’s beginning to to strike it out on his own.” Adam frowned. “So what’s the plan?”

“We’re actually the distraction, Prince Adam. There are people in place already. They are awaiting our signal: a very loud and conspicuous brawl.” Percival looked at Adora and she didn’t like the way he smirked at her, or well, she thinks he was smirking. Could giant cats smirk? The point was, he was mocking her and Adora could tell, “I heard subtly is something you fail at, so we took it upon ourselves to give you a job where you can be as ostentatious as you’d like. Charge in there and make all the noise you want. Just don’t get yourself cornered.”

Adora was looking at Percival who winked at her. Adam was beside him, stifling and choking on his own laughter. “Not. Funny.”

“It’s hilarious!” Adam whispered. “This is the perfect job for her!”  
“Cut it out!”

“Oh, come on, you big baby, I’ll be right there with you, see!” He stood up, pulling the Sword of Power out of its frogger “Last one there has to make the mission report to De’va directly and answer her ridiculously meticulous questions!” He charged forward. “By the Power of Grayskull!”

“Adam!”

*

“Hey there.” Glimmer tried not to gag. It hadn’t been that long since Tab had been thrown into the hold, had it? Thirteen days. Still there was a strong unpleasant smell, and as she got a look at Tab in the dim light, it became apparent why: hands and feet shackled together. Unable to do more than shuffle from one part of the cell to the other. It was clear what the smell was then: in this state, where it was a struggle to move, an accident or two must have happened, and there were no showers to clean up.

Tabby looked up at her, and then back to the floor. “Leave me alone. I don’t want to talk today.”  
“I don’t think we’ve talked since you shot me, actually?” Glimmer noted with surprise.

Tab’s blue eyes stared blankly. “Of course we did. You and Kittrina keep telling me what a monster I am. You and all the other damn kids.” Tab sighed covering their ears. “I already told you about the others. They were in the lab with me. Some. Or chipped and thrown at armies. Prime loved that. Watching our horror as we chose between dying or gunning them down!”

Glimmer shivered at that description, then forced herself to smile, to focus on the task at hand.

“You’re not making any sense.” Glimmer waved her hand but Tab’s gaze didn’t focus. She sighed, biting her lip, then touching the bars of the jail cell. Nothing sparked, so she teleported inside. That got some reaction. Tab flinched backwards, eyes wide, scrambling to the back of the cell. Tab held their hands in front of their face, turned as if expecting to be struck. Glimmer scowled at this, kneeling near them and as gently as possible, placing a hand on Tab’s shoulder.

Tab yelped as if burnt, curling away from the touch, but then, those blue eyes found her.

“You’re...really here? The real you?”  
Glimmer smiled. A small, forced, sad smile. “I am.”  
“You’re the real one. Not the one who keeps shouting at me...”  
Glimmer nodded, figuring it out. “I am, and I’m not angry at you. Not anymore. Well. Mostly.”  
“Why are you here?”

Glimmer sighed as she saw Tab visibly relax -- slightly, but she’d take the small victory. “I have a message for you, actually.” Glimmer paused before taking out the piece of paper. She felt like she was invading their privacy but another look at Tab’s dishevelled form convinced her that this was the best way to go about it. “She says: ‘I’m not angry at you Lovely, and this isn’t your punishment. You don’t need to be punished like this. I’m sorry for making you wait so long but I’m working on it. Please wait a little longer. Your Grima.’ That’s it.”

“Grima.” Tab whispered, the light returning to their eyes a little. “My Grima.”  
“Yes.”  
“She’s going to get me out of here?”  
Glimmer weighed the idea and then grabbed Tab’s hand. “Both of us will.”  
“My Grima.” Tab echoed.

Glimmer smiled when she saw Tab smile, some focus coming back to their gaze. She looked about, and then decided to sit beside the older Theran. Tab flinched away and scooted to put space between them.

“You were right you know.” Glimmer started, “I was careless. I wasn’t thinking about my actions beyond the here and now, and just like you said, Mog got hurt. I was wrong.” Tab looked at her, astonished, and Glimmer found herself searching for words to continue. “If we all just focused more, Bow, Adora and I, how much more smoothly do you think that mission would have gone?”

“Bow and Mog would be fine at least.” Tab admitted in a quiet voice.  
“And Mal?”

“Most of the damage was already done before we even got there. Maybe she could have gotten medical attention sooner though and not be asleep for as long.”

“That’s what I thought. I’m sorry Tab that my actions made everything go so...out of control now and landed you here. If we get the chance to do anything like that again -- trust me when I say I know better now.” Glimmer admitted. “Look, Mal is fighting for you to get out.”

“You...call her Mal? Not Princess De’va?” Tab questioned.

“I have a feeling she prefers it that way.” Glimmer admitted. “Hang in there. You need to keep fighting so that you can see Mal again too, okay?”

“I know, I just can’t shut them up.” Tab sighed, putting their head in their hands. “All those kids just keep hauntin’ me. I said I’d never shoot another damn kid again.” Their eyes blinked closed, then fluttered open. “It’s why I had to leave. I knew there was a chance to get those kids back from those mind control chips. They got me back after all -- but in the heat of it, you can’t be thinkin’ like that! I was gonna get my platoon or myself killed, and the reason I went military -- to help Lybica’s and Devon’s little sister -- I already did that. I found Mal. I was keepin’ her whereabouts secret. There was no point in stayin’, so I deserted.”

Glimmer went very quiet, then reached out and lightly touched Tab’s back. The Theran’s ears, which had stayed flattened to their head all this time, perked up, their tail moving to bridge the gap between them and Glimmer.

“I don’t think you’re a monster.” Glimmer admitted. “I think you’re someone in the past who didn’t have many good options.”

“And in the present?”  
“Well…” Glimmer trailed off smiling awkwardly.  
“I could have not shot you, you know.” Tab pointed out, then bowed their head. “I’m sorry.”  
“Out of curiosity…” Glimmer asked “If you put your gun down, what would she have done?”  
“Probably blast me with her magic.” Tab noted.

“Then it seems like your options still sucked.” Glimmer smiled at them. “We’re not cool but, maybe let me punch you a couple of times and we can call it even?” She joked. Tab smiled.

“Sure.” Tab snorted. “One request: not the face. My nose has been broken like ten times now.”  
“Deal.” Glimmer smiled, “though if it was the face, Mal would kiss it all better.” She teased.  
“Oh man, you’re gonna be one of those people now y’know about us? Lynx help me.”

“Hey, Duncan! You down here!?” Came a soldier’s voice calling down to them. Glimmer cursed, but stayed perfectly still when they heard that shout, “Duncan, come on man, we got a problem. Someone just lost it and went for the Theran Queen! Duncan!”

“Oh no.” Glimmer stood. Tab’s chains rattled.

“He’s not down here. I’m alone.” Tab called in a scratchy voice. There was a pause.  
“Oh. Just the prisoner then?”  
“Unless hallucinations count?” Tab offered, the barest hint of a joking smile on their lips.  
“Quiet down. We’ll deal with you later.” There was a slam, and Glimmer released a breath.

“You can’t do this to me.” Glimmer found Tab was clutching her hand, “You can’t just tell me she’s going to get me out and then tell me she’s gone forever.”

“She had a plan for this.” Glimmer rushed to explain. “I think.”  
“What the hell do you mean by ‘you think’ she had a plan?”

“There’s someone who wanted Adora to cause all this ruckus. We get rid of them and a lot of this mess can be cleaned up.” Glimmer explained but she was wondering if any of her explanations even made sense to the addled Tab. So she kept it simple. “I promise she’s safe.”

“Can you go to her to check and then come back? Please?”  
“Of course! I’ll be back!” Glimmer assured, disappearing in a flash.

*

Catra took off with Melog right on her tail. Bow found his lungs and ribs ached trying to keep up with her. Moving through the labyrinthine hallways. It didn’t take much: as soon as Catra heard “someone attacked the Queen and her father” she bolted without thinking twice, and Bow had lost track of her.

Bow knew he was beat. He bit his lip, his hands on his knees as he struggled to breath. This was the time to call for help. He knew he learned his lesson last time. Misunderstanding could spiral to the point of literally being shot. He pulled out his comm and started pressing buttons. First for Teela, but there was no response. Then Entrapta.

“Hi! Hi!”  
“Entrapta! I need help! It seems Queen De’va was attacked and~”

“She was attacked?” Entrapta turned away from the screen, “wait you were attacked? When were you attacked?” She asked someone behind her.

Bow’s eyes widened in surprise. “The attack happened on Purrsia?”

“Of course it didn’t.” There was a rattle and the screen spun before it settled on Mal who smirked at him. “Stay put. If we ended up where I think we did, Glimmer will be meeting you.”

“Wait, how are you~” Mal put a finger to her lips, smirking.  
“I set a trap, and now it seems the rat has sprung it.”  
“Who did they attack then?”  
“I’m sure Teela and Dekker can handle themselves, no worries.” 

“It’s brilliant Bow! Mal suggested that if the First One’s tech is used to control magic on other planets, then it can be used like a dam!”

“Wait,” he gasped for breath, “I’m not following.”

“Mal proposed that First One’s tech can actually block magic users from using their magic. We think there’s a way that it can be done without hurting someone but it is very touch and go~”

“Why do we need to block someone’s magic ability?”

“To deal with hostile sorcerers.” Mal answered. “Entrapta, what variations are we down to?”  
“By my estimation there should be about three different end scenarios left.”  
“And which of those work out with no casualties?” Mal asked.  
“One, and there’s a thirteen percent chance of it triggering.”

“Thirteen? The same amount of days that have passed. My lucky number.” Mal smirked as she turned back to Bow. “It must be a sign from the Goddess Lynx. See you soon.”

Bow felt like his head was spinning, but then Glimmer was in front of him.

“Bow!”  
“Glimmer!”

“Bow! They said someone attacked Mal and I was with Tab and it was awful and we have to get over there, where is Catra? She’s going to want to know and maybe where is Tom and Mog because they’re going to want to know and~”

“Glimmer. You need to breathe.” Glimmer did, gulping giant gasps of air, her face reddened as she just clung to Bow. He felt everything shift, and they were in a new corridor. There was nothing but commotion when they arrived. Mal and Magus Angora -- not the real ones were both fighting off a red headed man with a moustache. He was screaming.

“They started this! We can’t trust any of the Therans! They’re all traitors! All of them and their Queen!” The fake Mal knocked him down with a staff, while Magus Angora went to follow up. Glimmer went to jump in, but a large hand landed on her shoulder.

“We got it little one.” Tom grinned down at Glimmer. “No one treats our captain like a criminal for their jollies and then gets away with it.” He called across to the other side of the hallway. “Hey Magus Angora, I’m in position!”

“Excellent, Forrest! I have Catra here!” Called a voice from the far side of the three person battle before them. They were on the other end of the hall. The man they were fighting seemed to realize the discrepancy.

“There’s two Angora’s?” He called in surprise.

“Duncan! I believe your fight’s with me!” Called the fake Mal as she slammed him into a wall. The hallway before Bow and Glimmer lit up with green magic that stemmed from Tom’s hand, just as the man managed to break from a hold and rush at them. Tom didn’t flinch when he came into contact with the barrier.

“Aren’t you that Man-At-Arms guy?” Tom mused. “Or rather, a really good faker!”

“What are you traitors doing to my brother!?” Yelled a voice from further up. Bow turned around to see a man with a robotic hand. Glimmer frowned. Then she backed up. Malcolm closed in on them but before he could get closer, he was tapped on the shoulder, and soon found his field of vision filled with Moggie’s fist. He smirked.

“Sit tight for a little and be happy her Majesty told me not to hurt you, Fisto.” Moggie scratched an ear before stuffing his hands in his pocket. “The Royal Pain in the Ass.” He nodded to Glimmer. “How are you?”

“I have a name Mog.” Glimmer huffed.  
“Oh, I know. Not sure I care yet.” His smile was gentle. “Thanks for helping us out here.”

“You won’t get away with this!” Fisto staggered to his feet but Mog tackled him against the wall. 

“Dude. Chill. Look at the fight again for a second, would you?” Malcom did, along with Glimmer and Bow. What caught their eyes surprised them. Teela was wrangling Duncan to the ground, and Dekker was locking his arms behind him. Malcolm looked at it in shock. “See. Just a bunch of Eternians attacking other Eternians. Nothing unusual for your people when you’ve upset each other, right?”

“But where did the Theran Queen go?” Malcolm was utterly confused.  
“She’s not even on Starship Eternia right now, dummy.” Mog explained with a grin.

Malcom looked in shock. “But what reason do you have for trapping my brother?” Tom let the magic barrier drop so he could approach Dekker and Teela as they dragged Duncan to his feet. Magus Angora approached from behind him, staff in hand, and Catra at his side, glowering.

“We have reasons to believe this isn’t the real Eternian man known as Duncan.” The Magus supplied, Catra had her arms crossed.

“What proof do you have?” Malcom tried to struggle but Mog tut-tutted at him.

“Cause we can smell it?” Mog noted. “He literally doesn’t smell like he belongs here. Her Majesty took notice when you threw our Captain in jail. I don’t even think he’s really Eternian.”

“We’re going to need more than bizarre Theran senses. Prince Adam won’t stand for this!”

“Look. You Eternians have been pissing me off. I know what I was told not to do, but if I did it out of self defence I wonder who is going to say I went overboard with all this tension onboard?”

“Mog.” Tom shook his head, “don’t be a little shit.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out his device and did a quick flick on the screen pushing it into Malcolm’s face. He gasped.

“Where was that taken?”

“On Ezra. By a Royal Guard known as Percival. Two hours ago.” Tom explained. “He’s the Queen’s longest serving and most loyal servant. Looks familiar?”

“Duncan has been different since the last field mission we took six months ago.”  
“And you got seperated, right?” Tom offered. Malcolm bowed his head.  
“We did, but only for a few hours, he seemed tired but nothing else I thought~”

“Queen De’va went no contact for six months because of the war with Horde Prime,” Tom sighed, standing at his full height, “enough time that people slipped in and because of the radio black out, Adam wasn’t sure if De’va sent new faces into the ranks, and when she returned she wasn’t sure if he added. Add the whole Sorceress thing and she’s been laid out and unable to double check everyone’s identity. It makes sense it took this long to find discrepancies.”

“So...if that’s not my brother,” Malcolm watched as Magus Angora drew a spell circle around this imposter and recited an incantation. “Who is he?”

Red hair darkened to black. Streaks of grey appeared. Dark eyes and a goatee leading to a full beard. Teela took a few steps back while Dekker looked on. “You’re...Count Marzo.”

“Your bonds can’t hold me,” Marzo smirked, “and what I started someone else will finish.”

“Will they?” Mal’s voice carried over to them. She approached, and Teela stepped aside. “I have a present for you. Specialty made.” It was quick, but in one action she slipped what looked like a metal ring on his neck and it clicked closed and glowed. Bow stared at it and the small crystal embedded in it. “In case you wanted to try anything funny.”

Marzo choked and coughed and sputtered. “What the hell did you do to me, bitch!?” Tom, Magus Angora, and Mog all hissed at the same time. Mal merely raised her hand to tell them to stop and crouched in front of the man, her hands, covered by white gloves, found his chin.

“Let’s make something clear. I’m no ‘bitch’.” Mal informed, “I’m the fucking Queen.” She shoved him backwards and nodded to everyone. “Alright, we have confirmation of others. Time is short.”

“Was wondering when you’d show up.” Magus Angora sighed. “Really? A grand, heroic entrance? You sure you’re not taking the performative theatrics of the Throne too seriously?”

“Sorry. That device was a last minute thing with next to no testing. Thank Entrapta that we even got it from Theory to workable in such a short time.” Mal rubbed her neck to make the point even clearer. “Teela, Dekker, thank you.” She looked to Glimmer and nodded. “Now we have to ‘clean house’. Tom. Mog. You’re up.” Both of them nodded, but froze when Catra stepped over to Mal. She blinked. “What is it?” Mal asked. A hard strike to the face was her answer.

“You didn’t say you were planning any of this.” Catra hissed.

“The first part to deceiving any enemy is to first deceive your allies. All but a selected few were needed to pull this off.” Another slap sounded. This one loud enough that it echoed. Mal didn’t say anything as her head was turned with the blow. There was a pained silence as she spat on the floor and it came out red. “It wasn’t your business to know.” Was all she said finally.

“That’s a load of crap and you know it.” Catra warned before pushing past Tom. “I seriously thought someone could have killed you. What would I have told Tab?”

“Yes.” Mal spoke softly touching her bleeding lip, “what would you have?” Mal looked to Magus Angora and sighed. “Look out for her. There’s still a lot to do, but I can handle the spell work.”

“Sure thing, just don’t push yourself too hard. You’re nowhere near full health right now.”  
Mal chuckled, eyes closing. “Boy do I know. Thanks Dad.”

*

“Catra! Wait!” Catra stormed through the hallways, ignoring the murmurs, the confusion around her. She grit her teeth when Magus Angora caught up to her.

“What the hell was that!?” She spun around to yell at him. He took a step back, hands up.  
“De’va has been worried this would all go wrong.” He defended.

“Well she could have had me help! All of us are concerned about Tab! The Eternians won’t let us in to see them, Mal herself for whatever stupid reason said not to push the issue, and now suddenly one of them is attacking her and she set it all up? What the hell’s going on!?”

He scratched the back of his head, blue eyes boring a hole into the ground. “The moment Tab was thrown into a jail, a lot of this became hard to navigate without making the Alliance collapse in on itself. De’va has been trying, believe me.”

“Yeah. Trying -- and leaving Tab to rot in there for two weeks!”  
“You can’t throw away twelve years of an alliance between Kingdoms over one person.”  
“It’s not ‘one person’ it’s Tab. Or did she lie when she said Tab was very important to her?”

“Look, De’va probably doesn’t expect you to understand it,” Magus Angora scratched the back of his head again, “and to be honest, I think she’d prefer you’d never have to understand it.”

“Try me.” Catra challenged. He just sighed.

“When...you’re in the position where hundreds of thou -- no, millions of lives rely on your decisions, what you feel for one person is just a drop in the bucket. It doesn’t matter how much it hurts you to do the right thing you have to do it. Sometimes the right thing will feel awful because of it, but you have to choose it anyways. That’s the situation De’va is in now.”

“I don’t believe you.” Catra snapped. Her grandfather looked at her for a long time, his gaze tired and hauntingly sad. “How do we fix it?”

“Well…” He looked up to the ceiling, “I’m not sure we can, but I know where we can start. We need Adam and Adora on board to help diffuse as soon as possible.”

“What is she planning next?”

“A word of warning to you about Royalty...part of being the reigning Monarch is to be an image of unshakable will and power. That means putting on a display if you have to.”

“So she’s going public with what?”

“With her evidence...and her punishment for Tabby in case there are still those accusing the Therans of receiving favourable, lenient treatment.”

“We need to get Adora. Now.”

*

Hands could not move that far from one’s face. Yet they appeared blurred to her. Never in all of her life had she had problems with her vision. A quiet moment was a godsend. As Dekker and Teela tried to get information from the unknown sorcerer, she had a moment to just collect herself. To just be, and breathe.

Hands rifled looking for pockets -- who was she kidding, this was a bloody ass dress. The point of it was to make her the perfect image of a Queen -- both alluring and dangerous. Attractive and threatening, and always out of reach from someone who couldn’t manage her in her contradicting entirety. In fact, she hadn’t even rubbed at her eyes despite how much they and the rest of her body ached just for that reason. She needed to keep up appearances. Can’t mess up the make up, could she?

“My Queen.” She nodded, seeing the seemingly innocuous Eternian man, but knowing he was one of hers. She could smell it after all. Therans had a different smell from Eternians, even if they had been around them for ages. Eternians could never tell. Their sense of smell wasn’t that strong. He passed her two pill bottles. She took them, dumped twice the recommended dose for both of them into her hand and proceeded to swallow the pills dry one by one. She handed the bottles back to the man unceremoniously. Her subject stared at her with a mixture of shock and concern. “Would you like me to fetch a doctor?” Was all he could stutter.

“It can wait.”

“If I may just say something, you have been limping all this time, Your Majesty. Maybe you should sit for a little while, at the very least?”

Shoulders back. Spine as straight as she could get it. Ignore the blazing fire of pain that was running up and down her legs. Ignore it, even though it was bad enough she could curl up into a ball on her bed and sob for hours. Ignore it because she didn’t have time for it right now. She knew the warnings they gave her. The consequences of pushing too far too soon, but she had a life to save and the rest could damn well wait. She’ll take the consequences if it meant having a life worth living. Panthera needed a Queen, and she never wanted to be it, so let her have this one simple, selfish thing.

“It’s fine. Lead me to the cells now, if you would.” He still looked incredibly uncomfortable at her ignoring what was, for all intents and purposes the most logical advice she should have taken, but she forced a smile, practically painted it on her lips. It took everything in her to not make it falter when she came face to face with the face she wanted to see the few times she slept in the last two weeks. The body she wanted to hold that looked a little too thin for her liking. Sickly.

“Grima?” Tab sounded almost like a lost child and it almost broke her.

“I’m Queen De’va D’Riluth of Panthera.” She answered, “and you are to come with me, Major Tabby Manx, for your sentencing.” She turned to the man beside her and nodded. He unlocked the doors. “Take off the manacles on their legs. Leave the ones on the arms.”

“Grima...what’s going on?”

“Remember what I said about me having to earn it back?” Was all she would allow herself to give Tab, a small concession for her own sake more than that of her beloved spouse’s. The captain looked at her in utter confusion, lost like a child all over again.

“Grima, come on, you’re being so silly right now.” Tab chuckled. “I see you’re walking again. I’m so glad, but don’t push yourself too much, okay?” She could have sworn the sudden jolt of more pain through her legs was her body’s way of mocking her, of protesting. “Grima, can I have your hand, this is going to sound cheesy, but I miss how warm~”

“I’m not your Grima right now!” She snapped. Tab flinched back, startled at the outburst. Their ears drooped. Their tail fell between their legs and she turned away from the other Theran. “I’m sorry, Lovely. Really.” She canted her head to the man with them. “Let’s go.”

Tab’s blue eyes were so wide and so pained. “I trust you, Grima.” Came a soft whisper.  
“Time is precious.” Mal insisted, though her voice cracked. “We need to go.”

Tab shuffled more than walked. She paid close attention to each and every stumble, to the weird moments where Tab talked under their breath to no one at all, to the eyes that now saw them coming as they headed for the Messhall, a large gaggle of people around in all directions. Tab looked like they were about to bolt, but the heavy hand on their shoulder made them realize they probably couldn’t as Mal led them to the center of the room where there was a clearing. 

When she raised her hand, a glowing field of magenta energy appeared revealing that there was a barrier all around. She easily passed through with her soldier and Tab, and just as the man with her crossed the barrier, he immediately dropped his disguise, and she smiled at the familiar sights of Theran Tails and ears.

In the center of the clearing was a high back chair with armrests, and on either side were two other Therans, who bowed to her. The Theran who had Tab had them stand several feet from the chair while Mal situated herself in it, crossing her legs, and letting the slit in her dress reveal the gleaming metal of her left leg. Tab was forced to kneel in front of her, and had the circumstances been much different and private, maybe she would have found the idea enticing. Instead, revolt ate at her stomach and threatened to make her ill. She smiled stiffly instead.

All of the screens across the ship whined with static before it turned into an image of Mal sitting on the chair as though it was a throne, her hands on each arm rest.

“Good evening. I think it’s time we all have a little conversation about accountability and being transparent with one another in the Eternian-Pantheran alliance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love, absolutely love marrying the idea of seduction and danger with Therans and their culture. These are people who can transform their bodies into a form resembling large cats with all the natural tools a predator like that has. This idea that they are both alluring and threatening being a representation of their culture is something I enjoy. They naturally balance on the knife's edge. They are both a rich, family oriented people and fierce warriors. Charming and very welcoming as well as unforgiving once you cross them. Humble and wary of those who boast yet proud to be themselves. To the outside observer, like the First Ones/Eternians -- their lack of understanding the duality of Theran nature and how it's just inherent and integral to who they are leads them to focus on the 'animalistic' part and ignorantly reduce the people of Panthera to this alone. Any part of the alluring/seduction Hume races like this see is equated to the more carnal understanding of those draws. In turn, the Therans push back against that, but it always seems like some of them do so more by assimilating, and they lose a part of themselves in the process of trying to present themselves in a way befitting of Eternian sensibilities, and Hume sensibilities on a whole.
> 
> This is technically (in my head) what led to a lot of them not being able to transform at will as easily. I'm not sure how much of that discussion is going to get into the story. The fact is, deep down, every Theran can transform, but this lack of embracing their own nature lead some to be unable to control their other form without a shard of the Twilight Topaz. Which of course leads to incidents of violence, which makes Hume think they can't control themselves which leads to therans feeling they need to prove they can hang it with the Humes and...you get the idea.
> 
> Being their Queen, Mal/De'va is, of course subjected to this representation and imagery the most out of the OCs. To be frank, it's how she sees herself. Mal is the seductress. De'va is the ruthless power. She treats them almost like two seperate people, and it doesn't help that to some degree, her relationships with other people reinforce this divide in her mind. Adam only sees De'va, and she tries to push for the crew to only see her as Mal. The woman at the heart of both personas struggles to reconcile them as both legitimate aspects of who she is.
> 
> We are starting to see now some forces that be that will be influencing Catra's own opinion on her status as a Princess, and as you can guess, it's not the most positive. Monarch systems are complicated and would be incredible pressure cookers for those who are honestly trying to do well by their people. I can't help but think of Black Panther (RIP Chadwick Boseman. Geeze, yet another thing that's made 2020 rough) and the whole "You're a Good Man and it's hard for a Good Man to be King." Idea.
> 
> It also makes me laugh at my OC Mal a bit and her insistence that she's 'pretty much a monster' (though does that view come from her, or do others in her life cede that opinion and she's just internalized it? Better yet, who are those people?) if she was as terrible a person as she claims to be, she'd just say 'fuck it' right here and now and let her people at the Eternian's throats.
> 
> Instead it seems she's gearing up for more transparency between the two peoples. 
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “Princess Adora,” her voice rasped in response, “are you satisfied with the punishment?”  
> “This is their punishment?” Adora looked at her like she had grown two heads. “Why?”
> 
> “You wanted them to pay. You wanted justice. No. You wanted retribution.” Queen De’va stated flatly. “Is this enough?”
> 
> “This isn’t what I meant! Stop it now!”


	24. "I know I have no right to ask this of you but…can we try again?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen De'va finally shows her hand to the Eternian soldiers and her very own spouse, Tab, is caught in her crosshairs.  
> Adam and Adora's moment of lighthearted teasing is interrupted by the news of a public punishment on the ship.  
> Catra calls Adora out for her behaviour and then calls Adora in to help Tab while Adam is tasked with clean up.  
> Bow speaks out while others choose silence. Glimmer backs him up. Adora and Catra come in a nick of time.  
> Tallstar finds herself as a "guest" on board the Purrsia as Queen De'va makes her an offer she can't refuse.
> 
> CW: corporal punishment and violence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original plan was to update this Friday night. Then I got told that I essentially had to tear up my apartment before Monday and then not be in it all day Monday. Amazing how much doesn't get done when you're told something urgent at the last second. 
> 
> Anyways, this may be a strange blessing in disguise. I've been curiously peeking at stats, and since I'm not really a big name Fandom wise because I like to hang out in my corner and poke my head into spaces (and I don't have Twitter or Tumblr), if people don't see the story when it's updated and it gets buried, chances of finding new folks to join us on the ride tends to dip (not a lot of hits I mean).
> 
> I know that's not what writing is about, but I'm a bit of a logic driven numbers person and I always find it interesting how quickly things get buried on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Thursdays are a hit and a miss, and Mondays are sometimes busy as well. Tuesdays seem to be calmer. Why does this matter? It...doesn't, I guess. I just like interacting with an audience and realized unless the platform has unlimited scrolling (ie. Reddit and Tumblr) people stop looking after page three. Lol!
> 
> All this long winded spiel to really say I think my official update day of the week is going to be Tuesday, with the occasional appearance of a weekend update. :)
> 
> Also, I'm beginning to work on a very loose outline for the sequel to this, and so I offer you a vote on a word. What do you prefer: cyclone or whirl? It will probably make more sense, like months from now. :P
> 
> That being said about having fun reaching out to folks, I am on a She-ra discord server, and wouldn't mind making one someday. Ah. We'll see.

Hey Adora,

I’m not sure what to tell you anymore. Mal found your letters and convinced me to keep writing, to let this be my way of processing. She says she thinks it’ll be good for me. I’m not sure what point there is though. You already know I’m angry but I’m trying to get over it.

I guess I could say that I’m sorry for invading your privacy...but also, that was all Mal so I’m not sure if I should be apologizing for that? Besides, you came to the Purrsia on your own. Our ship, our rules. Our rules means Mal gets to know everything that happens.

You get used to it. She’s not nosy for the sake of being nosy, she wants us to all live long and healthy lives on this ship and that means working together...and heading off issues that might make it hard to work together. A little ironic considering the state she and Tab have been in lately, but I guess this wouldn’t be the first time she’s a bit of a hypocrite.

The Purrsia used to be my place. Now you’re here. I know you said you want to understand things better but I can’t help but feel like you’re taking it away from me.

Catra

*

Tallstar didn’t like this. Not one bit. She edged around the mess hall, ducking between people to take peeks at the action. An Alliance on the verge of crumbling. What was she expecting? People were inherently selfish, self serving and egocentric. Two very different types of people couldn’t possibly get along. She saw this coming, and was responsible for helping orchestrate it by reporting the weak point even, but still, it was shocking how it was being handled. She expected weeks if not months of quiet blame games and finger pointing. Arguments behind closed doors and growing resentments. Maybe even an assassination attempt or two. Instead the newly declared Queen of Panthera decided to set everything on fire in the hopes of burning away the unhealthy parts of this Alliance at the cost of greatly disrupting the power balance of the allied Kingdoms. It was insane. A nuclear option made to keep the matter from dragging out too long. Tallstar needed to get out of here, but it was like watching a crash in slow motion.

“There have been many accusations,” Queen De’va’s voice carried like a song. “accusations among the Eternian side of this Alliance that we Therans would get away with murder if we could. That we are inherently disloyal, unable to even cooperate with even ourselves.” There was a buzz, a commotion and Queen De’va raised her hand, her metal leg bouncing as she tapped her foot out of...anxiety? Agitation? Annoyance? Impatience? It was hard to tell. “Lieutenant,” she called to one of the Therans beside her, “If you would be so kind...” She gestured and a recording blasted from the speakers.

[“They say Princess Adora is still upset about her friend being hurt by that Rogue Theran and the Theran Princess gave Princess Adora a bs answer and that started a fight.”] Came one clip. There was a commotion as the soldiers recognized the voice of their colleague.

[“Honestly, why do we even work with them? They can’t even agree with each other.”] Came another clip and yet again there was a shuffle among the crowd as they edged away from the soldier who’s voice they recognized in the recording.

[“If Horde Prime was still here, how many do you think would abandon our cause to him? I don’t think Princess De’va is the strongest leader, and they’re cowards by nature.”]

At this last clip, Queen De’va held up her hand for the clips to stop. There was a quiet rumbling among everyone and Tallstar watched as the Queen rose to her feet.

“You doubt our sincerity. You doubt our commitment.” Her voice was soft, “You doubt that a twelve and a half year old girl didn’t kill her own mother.” That one had her lips quirk to the side and Tallstar could feel a chill down her spine. “Now that one’s kind of funny -- I think that says far more about you then it does about myself, the aforementioned former twelve year old of the situation just described.” Queen De’va paced around the edge of the circle. “Let me tell you that day was one of the absolute worst in my life.” There was a snarl at the end, her eyes flashed with fury. “And I do plan to have the blood of the one who did it. Kind of impossible to do that if it was me all along, wouldn’t it?” Another smile touched at her lips, teasingly.

The Queen paused, letting the murmur grow to a quiet roar, her ears twitching, most likely picking up stray bits and pieces. Tallstar watched in abject horror and fascination when everyone quieted as she raised both of her hands, commanding them silently to stop.

“I won’t lie to you. I’ve killed before. Always in self defence. From what, you may ask?” She tilted her head. “Why just the other day, an Eternian patrol tried to solicit favours from me under the threat of violence if I didn’t comply. Try to remember that the next time someone talks to you about how feral a Lioness from one of the Dens are and claims he was attacked ‘without provocation’. There was a provocation -- having your personhood denied. Being reduced to something meant for someone else’s amusement.” There was a murmur, and the Queen’s voice boomed suddenly over them, gaining attention again. “Before you pat yourselves on the back for being better than Randor’s men,” she called out, “I want you to take a listen to how you talk about us right here on this ship.” The Queen pointed to the speakers. New recordings began.

[“He’s apparently a genius among Theran.”] Came a snarky voice.  
[“Definitely among them, Malcolm.”] Came a laugh.  
[“You’re wise not to want to wait for the Therans. They are unreliable.”]

[“So what you’re telling me is, this Tabby person is dangerous?”] Tallstar practically forgot how to breathe when she heard her own voice on those speakers echoing at her strangely. Her blood went cold. This was bad. Very bad. [“Dangerous enough to gun down someone on the same side?”]

[“Pretty much.”] came the response, [“be careful. A lot of Therans can be like that.”]

The recording shut off and Tallstar noticed that there were a few eyes on her. Staring uncomfortably. She flipped her hoodie over her head, breath held.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Tallstar cursed, tugging at her hoodie to cover her face more and backing out of the room as quickly as she could, “she had spies. All this time she’s been freaking spying on all of us. Watching all of us. Crap. This is even worse than Kittrina. I have to~”

“Hello Tallstar.” She looked up to a blue eyed Etherian man she had never seen before and the first thing she realized was that he knew her name. For a second, his eyes flashed to the deep gold you’d see among many Theran and suddenly she understood. “You look distressed.”

“What do you want from me?” Tallstar whispered, trying not to make a scene. One Theran? Odds were against her but still better than dealing with multiple of them.

“Why don’t you stay for a little while? The Queen would like to talk to you later. She invites you to meet with her on the Purrsia as an honoured guest.” He indicated his head to two others and Tallstar suddenly realized: she was caught.

Her attention was brought back to the front of the room.

“What do you all think this says about you? About Eternia in the end even the version of Eternia you claim to be building? Is it truly different from Randor’s vision like your Prince claims?” The Queen asked, walking the perimeter of the clearing she had made, letting the silence fill the room. She returned to her chair and sat in it.

“Let this be a demonstration of our commitment and dedication to our shared cause. One that I personally challenge Crown Prince Adam to match.” Queen De’va tugged off her white gloves. Her right hand was now visible and Tallstar could see the metal that gleamed, replacing the missing parts of her fingers and missing pinky. She reached to her left and right. The guards to her side began to carefully wrap her hands in long strips of blood red fabric.

“Before me, I have Ex-Major Tabby Manx.” The Queen continued, “Or as some of you more crassly put it whilte you enjoyed your gossip, my lover.” There was a charge in the air as the Queen nodded to the guard by Tabby. He went over to the still shackled Tab, and dragged them closer to where the Queen was seated, forcing them back to their feet. Tab’s head was bowed.

“In case there are doubts of my supposed preferential treatment or my claim...” She leaned down and grabbed Tab by the jaw, hard. She kissed Tab. Tallstar felt sick at the sight. This display of affection? There was no tenderness, only malice. It was outright poisonous.

“Grima,” Tab managed to gasp out, “I forgive you.” The Queen shoved Tab backwards. Tab Still babbled frantically. “whatever you’re going to do, I--” she sent a sharp look and the soldier by Tab shoved them face first into the ground.

“Major Manx.” Queen De’va kept her voice frighteningly even, “You showed a lack of control on the battlefield.” She began checking the fabric wrapped about her hands. “One can only consider your conduct not only grossly negligent but outright vindictive.” Queen De’va paused, letting her words land with weight. “Princess Adora has made it clear to me that your actions must be answered for.” She stretched her hand out and was given a wooden cane, and rose to her feet. There was movement around her as the Therans with her brought out a small frame and dragged Tab onto it.

“As is in Theran tradition for crimes against one’s own allies, when requested, punishment must be corporal.” There was a stunned hush. “I hereby sentence you to twenty-five strokes.”

*

Adam huffed when Adora messed up his hair. She grinned at him and despite himself he couldn’t help but smile.

“So you said we’re twins, but are you sure I’m not the big sister?” She joked. He rolled his eyes.  
“I slipped into the mine because I lost my footing. It happens.”  
“Suuuuure. And I just had to bail you out when I heard you scream like a child.”

“I did not scream!” Adam shouted, then added, “that loudly.”  
Adora shoved his shoulder. “Poor baby brother.”

“Your time in Despondos means I’m actually older than you now!” He puffed up his chest.  
“I was still probably born three minutes before you.” Adora poked him in the ribs.

“Ow!” Adam frowned. “Well that doesn’t matter because now I’m three whole years older than you. That’s the same amount of years between me and De’va, you know!”

“So my little-big brother likes older women?”  
“I guess their maturity is attractive and--” Adam froze. “Wait. Why are you bringing this up?”

“So you and De’va really are a thing. Gotcha. Not just political, is it?” Adora smirked. Adam groaned. “So is Teela older than you too?”

“I can’t believe we’re actually discussing this.” Adam covered his face. “She’s the same age as De’va and since we’re talking about the messy world that is my love life, or really and truly a lack thereof since both of them are JUST my FRIENDS -- what’s your deal?”

“What do you mean, what's my deal?”  
It was time for Adam to give a wicked smirk. “Queen Glimmer. Princess Catra.”  
“They’re just my really good friends!”

“Sure.” Adam rolled his eyes. “Really good friends. Such good friends you try to murder the wife of the person that shot Glimmer. Not to mention you get really touchy about Catra calling the Purrsia Crew her family all the time. Sounds perfectly legit as best friends would, Adora.”

“I wasn’t going to touch Princess De’va! Never mind murder her! I can’t believe you would suggest that!”

“Yes, you were only going to brandish your sword very menacingly.” He crossed his arms triumphantly. That note of smugness disappeared when Percival cleared his throat and suddenly Adam found himself reminded of how bad the entire situation was when those bright green eyes glared at them both. “I think you meant well, but maybe instead of flying into hero mode, for the people you love, try to understand them and the other people close to them?”

“Saying they’re vicious seems wrong, but it’s hard not to see they do things differently.”  
“You mean fighting tooth and nail viciously. That’s not a Theran thing, that’s a Verse thing.”

“What about how quickly they just sort of...get all chummy? It took me months when we were kids to get Catra to finally trust me.”

“Not really a Theran thing, more a Shifter thing overall.” Adam shrugged, “when you’re one of a rare kind, you see others like you and you get a little excited. That’s why you and I are getting along well -- Cause you’re She-Ra and I’m He-Man.” He chuckled.

“Okay, then what about the way they sort of rough house or are harsh with each other?”  
“Totally a Theran thing.” Adam laughed. “They believe egos make people insufferable.”  
“Gee.” Adora sighed. “Look, I don’t really get Therans.”

Percival and Adam both turned to her. Percival crossed his arms and together, like they were thinking the same thing, Adam and the Royal Guard voiced the same thought together in the exact deadpanned tone: “Neither do most Eternians.”

“Ouch.” Adora sighed. “Okay. That’s on me. I’ll try to be better at this then.”

“You wanna be better, do better? If this weren’t a war, I’d tell you to live on Panthera for a year or two, instead, well, hmm…” he put a hand to his chin. “Instead what else can we do…”

Adora didn’t know where the idea struck her. “Maybe I can be on the Purrsia for a while?”

Adam lit up at the idea, then his expression fell flat. “I would give you my blessing but speak to De’va first? Well. Actually, speak to Tab.”

Adora made a face at that. “Why Tab?”

“Those two have an understanding. She may be Royalty but as far as De’va is concerned, Tab is the ‘ruler’ of Purrsia come hell or highwater. She wants no part in the decision making process other than following the order. I think she just likes not being in charge for once to be honest. Several aspects of their relationship works that way, she told me.” His cheeks were dusted pink and he cleared his throat. “So, talk to Tab.”

“You mean the same Tab I got locked up?” Adora asked him incredulously.  
“That’s correct!” Adam confirmed.

Adora smacked her head. “So I’m supposed to go up and say ‘hey can I join your crew after getting you thrown in prison for two weeks’? Do you not see the problem with that?”

“Mmm, yeah, might be an issue.” Adam sighed. Adora groaned.

“Your Highnesses,” Percival cut in, his voice cool and crisp, “we’re docking the vehicle back with Starship Eternia.” There was a pause. “There’s a broadcast going on.”

Adam’s attention was drawn to that. “Put it on.” De’va’s voice reached both him and Adora and she watched her brother sink into his chair, smacking his head with his hand. “Can’t I catch a break to fix this before it blows up even more.”

“What is~”  
“Shh. Listen.”

[“Let this be a demonstration of our commitment and dedication to our shared cause. One that I personally challenge Crown Prince Adam to match.”]

Adora felt all the blood run from her face. She swallowed, and found something lodged in her throat. Adam covered his face and inhaled and sighed.

“You knew about this, didn’t you Percy?”  
“I did your Highness.”  
“She waited specifically for me to leave the ship so she could do this, didn’t she?”  
“That she did your Highness.”  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He rasped.

“Because,” Percival turned in his chair, “I am sworn to Her Majesty Queen De’va of House D’Riluth, not you, Crown Prince Adam of Eternia. Even if you two were or are, technically, Engaged, and even if she took you up on your offer to get Tabby Manx out of being unjustly jailed by marrying you here and now, my loyalty would remain with her Majesty alone. Not to some brat Prince of Eternia.”

Adora swore the entire cockpit of their ship became uncomfortably cold. 

“I just wanted to solve this whole mess as quickly as possible for Tabby’s sake!” Adam said, getting defensive. “You make it sound like I was taking advantage of the situation by capitalizing on the fact that Tabby is someone De’va cares about.” Adam groused, crossing his arms.

“Aren’t you though?” Percival called out, turning back in his seat, “even if not maliciously or intentionally, that is exactly what you’re doing. You know we rely on you. The question I’ve asked for years is why do you do it and to who’s benefit? Eternia’s? Or maybe something more personal? Maybe you’ve always wanted to get something out of it for yourself?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“The fact that you refuse to see it is absolutely deplorable. It’s dodging responsibility and placing it on her Majesty’s shoulders instead.” Percival explained smoothly, not even bothering to look at Adam. “My Queen has told me only to follow your every direction as long as it does not come in direct conflict with an order of her own. She leaves it to my discretion where that line lies.”

“Of course.” Adam agreed tersely.

“I consider anything that threatens her own or Panthera’s autonomy, Prince Adam, to be in conflict with my Queen’s wishes. So yes. I orchestrated for you to take on this mission so that she could continue her work here undisturbed and unpressured by your shortsighted wants.”

Adam gritted his teeth. “And she couldn’t just tell me this herself?”  
Adora looked at him in concern. “Adam...maybe just let it go.”

Adam sighed, crossing his arms, closing his eyes. “Sorry. I...just want everything and everyone to be okay.” He gave a wry smile. “I’m sick of seeing so many people I care about hurting.”

*

Catra’s tail was practically vibrating as she sat in a corner. Melog curled against her, glowing with a sickly yellow energy. She couldn’t help being twitchy, not when she heard that broadcast. Magus Angora stayed behind her, saying nothing but remaining silent and annoying her further.

“This is too far.” She grumbled, not for the first time as she waited for the shuttle to dock. “What is she even thinking?”

“That we need to put a quell to the tensions between Therans and Eternians, now.”  
“By publicly punishing Tab? How the hell does that solve anything?”  
“Princess Adora did say rather publicly she was upset that Tab’s actions weren’t accounted for.”

“Tch.” Catra bit her thumb and went back to pacing. “That means Mal’s only going to take one answer to stop all this.” Her tail coiled with so much agitation it felt stiff and ached as she listened to Mal’s...no, Queen De’va’s cold, sharp words.

[“One can only consider your conduct not only grossly negligent but outright vindictive. Princess Adora has made it clear to me that your actions must be answered for.”]

“Come on Adora,” she breathed, “get off the ship and out here. You’re the one who made a big deal out of it all, so you’re gonna have to call this circus show off.” The pit of her stomach felt like it was dropping when she saw two blond heads exit the craft and look about. She just about jumped over the railing of the hangar.

“Adora!” Adora turned to her, her eyes widened, they brightened, and then they must have seen the panic etched all over Catra’s face. Adora sprinted to her then skidded almost to a stop, looking Catra over. “It’s good to see you.”

“Catra I’m so happy to see you too, I~”

“Queen De’va is punishing Tab just like you wanted.” Catra cut her off. All elation left Adora’s face, and they both stared at each other. Adora grabbed her by the forearms. “What?”

“This isn’t what I wanted.”  
“Too late to play that game now. Are you going to fix it or not?”  
“How can I fix something like this?”

The sound. Catra didn’t know how to describe it, but she didn’t have to see it. The sound of something hard hitting flesh always had a distinctive ring to it, and the scream that followed sent shivers down Catra’s spine and tail. It was Tab’s scream. Catra wrapped her arms around herself, and shook her head. Adora stood there, looking at her with worry. She reached out to Catra but she flinched away. Catra was breathing hard.

“Are you...going to be okay?”

“I’m fine.” Another blow. Another scream. Catra’s tail curled around herself, she crossed her arms. “Tab isn’t. We need to do something.” She looked to Adora. “YOU need to do something.”

“Catra,” Adora finally reached out, her touch featherlight, she guided Catra’s arms away from her body, but didn’t pull her into a hug, instead she held her by the forearms. “It’s going to be okay.” She felt Catra tense when that awful sound came a third time followed by a sob. “We’re going to figure this out somehow. Tab is going to be fine.”

“Not if we don’t stop standing here! We need to stop her!” Catra stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She pulled away from Adora’s embrace and took off.

“Catra!” Adora reached out to her then shook her head. “Adam, I’m going ahead!”  
“Sure thing! See you there!” Adam called up.

Adam got to the top of the stairs a moment later only to see Magus Angora smirking at him. 

“What’s so funny?” Adam glared at the elder Theran.  
“You’ve been around Royalty long enough to know everything’s a performance.”  
“That doesn’t make me feel any better about this.” He snapped.

“Of course it doesn’t.” Magus Angora’s voice was smooth. “No one in your position likes propping up friends and family into terrible positions just to appease the masses, right Percy?”

“How true, Master Magus.” Percival dipped his head in reverence.

“Anyways, young Prince Adam, you have a role to play in this too.”  
“What role would that be?” He frowned.  
“The Almighty Janitor. I have a warp spell with your name on it.”  
“Just what does she want me cleaning up?”

“Seems we have a couple of enemy spies as I’m sure Percy informed you. Teela and Dekker are on it while everyone else is distracted by the -- how did my granddaughter put it -- circus show in the mess hall. De’va has specifically requested you back them up. Her little display is going to make it known that Theran are aboard Starship Eternia -- because she had several of us set up an incantation to cancel all other spells in the area. Including illusion spells.”

“So she’s taking the mask off everyone? That’s her idea?”  
“We’ll be exposed, but she’s spinning this whole thing to be about transparency in the Alliance.”  
“Of course. That’s only logical. A little over the top though, don’t you think?”  
“We may lose being able to operate with you covertly, but we expose our enemy as well.”  
“When we’re done with this, tell her I don’t appreciate being just another piece on her board.”  
“I’ll make sure she takes note of that.” Magus Angora offered his hand.  
Adam looked at him with a sour look. “Lets get it over with then.”

*

Glimmer’s hand squeezed Bow’s almost to the point of breaking it. Her lip trembled, her other hand covered her mouth, but she didn’t look away. Bow found it hard to watch, but he wasn’t quite sure what to do. As he peered through the crowd he started to notice it with some curiosity: more and more Therans dotted the crowd. Their ears gave them away, all of them watching the scene before them. He could hear a murmur among the Etherians, but many of them were more of less saying the same thing: this? It was too much.

The fifth blow that landed dragged an ugly sob from Tab. Bow felt something squeeze against his chest as he noticed everything paused. Queen De’va was offered water, and she took a pause, and he could sense it was purposeful, like she was trying to delay returning to the deed, trying to buy time. It only made the tension in the room worse as the Queen stood there, sipping at her water while Tab laid on the stand, panting for breath, and whimpering.

“You have no right to cry here, Major.” De’va spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, “Are you not a Theran? Grit those teeth and accept your punishment.” Tab’s sniffling stopped, stifled.

“THIS ISN’T RIGHT!”

Everyone was looking at him now. Bow could feel it. Everyone except the Therans by their Queen, Tab and the Queen herself. Queen De’va didn’t even glance in his direction and instead reached out her hand for the cane. Just as she raised it over her head, Bow found himself screaming out to her again.

“STOP IT!”

Glimmer looked at him with a mixture of dismay and worry. They were now alone as people pressed into each other to give him and Glimmer space. The rumbling of the crowd was getting louder. He could hear bits and pieces as more and more began to echo his simple sentiment, but quietly as they watched blow after blow.

‘I don’t know what we thought before but the Therans might be too strict.’  
‘Corporal punishment? Was all this necessary for a misunderstanding on the field?’  
‘This is cruel. Is this really what Princess Adora and our comrads were asking for?’

Another five blows had been met with a resounding, bloodcurdling scream. Tab was now hunched over on the caning stand, unable to even kneel upright. Bow felt his heart thundering in his ears as he saw Queen De’va take another break. Her expression a little too schooled into something neutral as she handed off the cane, wiping the bangs that stuck to her forehead. Tab was sobbing softly, the room so quiet that everyone could hear it.

“Aren’t any of you going to do anything!?” Bow called out loudly. More murmurs emerged from around them, their words burned something deep in Bow as he watched Tab’s trembling form.

‘Well, if this is the way Therans do things, do we really have any right to intervene?’  
‘It was their own Queen who decided this punishment right?’  
‘Yes, but she said it was at the behest of Princess Adora.’

“Is this really what all of you stand for?” Bow called out to all of them. He could feel their eyes now as he stepped forward to the ring of people that surrounded them and began pushing and shoving towards the front. “If you won’t do anything, I will!”

“Bow wait!” Glimmer called after him.  
“I’m not going to wait and watch anymore!”

“But there’s the barrier spell~” he walked into it and it threw him backwards, into the throng of people who cleared out of the way of the rebound. Glimmer grabbed him before he could hit the ground, winded by the force in which his body slammed into hers. Bow breathed deeply, his ribs aching in protest. He glared at the glowing film between him and his goal. The Queen looked at him for a long time and when he realized he had her attention, he spoke to her directly.

“Why are you doing this?” Queen De’va merely bowed her head and reached out for the cane. She grasped it tight, but Bow could have sworn he saw her hand was shaking, the cane itself waving with the tremors in her arm. She took a deep breath, becoming very still. The Cane stilled and she brought it down hard.

“MAL!” Catra’s voice echoed across the room just as the strike connected. Bow looked to Glimmer and she nodded. They disappeared in a flash of magenta light, then appeared in front of Catra just as she screamed out again. “MAL! STOP IT!”

Finally, an answer. One that sent a chill down their spines. “That is not my decision to make.”  
“Then who’s~” Catra hissed. Loud footsteps caught Glimmer, Bow and Catra’s attention.

“I’m here! Finally! Sorry!” Adora gasped, hands on her knees. “What’s going on?” Another crack of hardwood against flesh. Another scream. “Glimmer?”

“Hold on!” Glimmer grabbed Bow and Catra’s hands. Catra grabbed Adora’s. They flashed away in a burst of light, and just outside the barrier.

“Let them through. Both the barrier and to me.” Came the Queen’s command. The Therans around her stood down when Glimmer, Catra, Adora and Bow passed through the protected circle just as the Queen raised her hand high again.

“Mal!” Catra called again. The strike landed. Tab yelped, and then slumped. “Stop this. Now.”

Queen De’va turned, facing Adora directly. “Is this enough?”  
“What the hell do you mean if this is enough?”

“Is it enough or not?” She repeated tersely. Adora stared at her in shock. The Queen raised her arm again, her chest heaving as she gulped down air. Catra sprinted forward. Glimmer grabbed Bow, and Adora found herself dashing beside Catra.

“NO!” They all screamed at once.

Catra’s fist met the Queen’s cheek and the Therans with her all growled in response. She stumbled a few steps to the side, cane still firmly in hand. Adora grabbed her by the wrist, squeezing hard, and a flash of pink saw Glimmer gingerly pulling Tab off the stand and holding them close. Bow stood in front of both of them, in the way of the Theran guards.

“Queen De’va.” Adora spoke very firmly. “Put it down.”  
“Princess Adora,” her voice rasped in response, “are you satisfied with the punishment?”  
“This is their punishment?” Adora looked at her like she had grown two heads. “Why?”

“You wanted them to pay. You wanted justice. No. You wanted retribution.” Queen De’va stated flatly. “Is this enough?”

“This isn’t what I meant! Stop it now!”

“Is this enough?” Queen De’va asked again. Adora squeezed her wrist so hard that the cane fell to the ground. Catra looked between Adora and Mal, unsure if or how to interject.

“It’s more than enough.” Adora declared loudly. All tension seemed to leave the Queen’s body, and she offered a genuine but pained smile, her eyes even more reflective than usual as they became rheumy, but no tears spilled from them.

“Thank Lynx.” Mal whispered. “Thirteen. Lucky number.” Adora let go of her wrist, shoving her backwards. Mal tripped over her own legs, being steadied by one of her guards, bumping into them gracelessly, her long fringe falling into her face and guarding her expression from view.

“I want it to be clear,” Adora announced, “that any debt Tabby Manx owes for their crime is cleared. I have nothing against them and neither should Eternia.” She turned to Glimmer, who’s eyes widened in realization. Gently, she passed Tab to Bow’s waiting arms, and smiled kindly when he winced only slightly at the impact to his ribs.

“That goes for me too! I’m the one that Captain Tabby Manx had harmed in all of this and I do not see this punishment as necessary!” Glimmer added quickly. “There is no debt that Tabby has to clear. We’ve settled it. There’s nothing else to be done about it.” Bow breathed a sigh of relief as there was a buzz in the room, as people murmured about being glad it was over and that the Queen of Panthera was an incredibly terrifying woman.

“So all debt of the crime is cleared?” The Queen asked, pulling her hair out of her face and standing a little straighter, hands folded behind her back. “Am I understanding this correctly, Princess Adora?”

Adora walked up to her and stopped mere inches from her. “You’re in the wrong here.”

“Am I? You’re the one who came to my room accusing me of not taking the action I should be. This was my answer.” Mismatched eyes met Adora’s. Hers narrowed. So it was like this? Adora locked her jaw for a moment before forcing the words free.

“I was out of line.” Adora admitted, loud enough for all assembled to hear. “I had no right to accuse you of not taking your responsibilities seriously, Queen De’va. I had no right to disturb you while you were recovering from your severe injuries. I recognize now that I misunderstood how the Theran people did things, and that is my fault. I take full responsibility for that.”

“As you should.” Queen De’va acknowledged, but there was a biting edge to her voice.  
Adora felt herself flush with frustration. “Still, this response to my misguided request is~”

“You spoke of making Major Manx pay.” De’va held up her hand. “We call that the language of retribution. You, Princess Adora, demanded retribution for the crime. In our tradition that equates corporal punishment.” The words were crisp. Cool. Adora grit her teeth but nodded.

“That was wrong of me, to ask for something without knowing the full ramifications.” They stared at each other for a long time as Adora worked her tongue from the roof of her mouth. She knew something more needed to be said. Finally she found the words, somewhere in the space between Tab’s quiet sobs, Catra’s intense staring and Glimmer’s voice quietly reassuring Tab.

“I’m sorry.” Adora said. “Not only was I out of line, what I chose to do put Eternia out of line and that means we, as Eternians have wronged Panthera, our sworn allies.”

“We of Panthera accept your apology, on the understanding that you will work with us in a restorative manner, careful of your biases.” It was like the Queen had been planning to say that all along. Adora sighed with relief. The room seemed to feel the relief as well. “As for things on a more personal level,” she continued in a quiet voice. That caught Adora’s attention and when her eyes met the Queen’s, she felt like she was being hunted down, those pupils narrowing to slits, “don’t you ever dare put me in a position where I must use my authority against someone I care about again. Next time, I will be nowhere near as lenient or gentle with you as I am now.”

“I understand.”

“Good.” She turned around to face the assembled crowd. “Now, I believe we’re all just about done here.” She called out, snapping her fingers. “So I have one more request. The first step to restorative justice. Look to your left. Look to your right. The soldier standing with you? Are they Eternian? Are they Theran? We have been here all along. Listening. Watching. Protecting and fighting with you on the frontlines. Covering your back in the field and leading the charge when things seemed hopeless. Now we also have a new threat: those faces you don’t recognize that aren’t Theran or Eternian? A moment ago were they not the faces of soldiers you knew to be raising a ruckus? Who had nothing but negative things to say about your Theran allies?”

There were gasps. Murmurings. From Adora, Glimmer, Catra’s and Bow’s place in the circle they could see the naked panic on the faces of those strangers. Mal smirked.

“Make sure not a single one of them leaves this room.”

There was a commotion. They watched in both fascination and worry as several people were tackled to the ground and held there. Mal bowed her head, breathing deeply, but not moving an inch as the chaos occurred, until there were calls that the apprehended were captured. Adora, Glimmer and Bow noticed Tom and Mog move through the crowd to each captured person and placed something on their neck. The crowd began to settle.

“We let someone exploit our weakness. A lack of trust in each other borne from our natural differences as peoples.” De’va measured the words carefully. “Let this be a reminder to us all that we are far stronger when we work together, and vulnerable when we don’t.” The Queen added, placing the cane between her feet and folding her hands quietly over it. They spotted Adam slipping through the crowd, but attention was turning back to the center of the crowd.

“I want everyone to understand something.” Adora called out, now gaining everyone’s attention, distracting them from Adam. She looked at the bruised and sickly form of Tab, who said nothing, but only shook, their arms now free from the shackles, they wrapped their arms around themselves, and wrapped around their wrist was what looked like a leather bangle. 

“I was wrong about the Therans. Many of us are wrong about the Therans.” Adora began walking over to Tab. “They are kind, brave, noble people.” Glimmer looked up to her. Reaching for the bracer on her arm, Adora returned it to the Sword of Protection. “They should be treated as our equals, as our friends and Allies. Yet I, like many of you, see the parts of them that don’t look like us and I allowed myself to be blinded by that. We have a responsibility to learn. Let this be the first step to me correcting my misunderstandings.” Adora glanced behind her to see Mal, only seeing her back, bowed head, and folded hands.

“For the Honour of Greyskull!” Adora felt the power that flowed through her, felt her form tower over almost everyone in the room. She then planted the sword into the floor and gently reached out to Tab, concentrating the magic through her and out through her hand to Tab’s curled up form. A glow of magic surrounded the Theran and they gasped, looking about wildly, fearfully, confused. “It’s okay. Relax. I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. I’m just going to heal you, so take a deep breath, okay?” Adora told them.

The quickly purpling marks turned an sickly yellow and white and welted. The dullness of their skin took a shine of health again, then faded slightly. They were still a little too sickly thin for comfort but they looked much better, and their teal blue eyes looked at Adora’s, wided and seemingly innocently gazing at her in awe.

“I know I have no right to ask this of you but…” Adora held out her hand, “can we try again?”

Tab silently unwrapped their arms from around themselves and reached for Adora’s hand. Adora smiled when she pulled Tab to their feet, but the joy was short-lived when Tab collapsed in Adora’s arms a moment later.

*

Catra sat at the edge of the bed. Adora stood. Bow sat in a chair, foot tapping. Glimmer was pacing. The four of them looked at each other and smiled. It was a soft moment, a quiet moment. Adora sighed, smiling for the first time in a long time.

“I’m...glad we found you again Catra.” She uttered. Bow and Glimmer stilled. Catra looked up from her careful vigil over Tabby’s sleeping form. She brushed her hands through the unevenly cut white hair. “And I’m sorry I’ve been pretty awful.”

“What are you going to do now?” Catra asked softly. “You're going to head home. Just like that?”

“I think I need to understand your new world a little more.” Adora admitted. “I’m still figuring out what that will look like though.” She sighed, looking to Glimmer and Bow who both gave her the thumbs up. Adora felt less certain when Catra didn’t seem to react, instead staring at Tab’s face.

“Tab said they wanted to give me a chance, just like someone gave them.” Catra explained very softly, “I gave the whole crew crap about being shady. Then Mal said they were ‘rough around the edges but not complete monsters’.” Catra lifted her shoulders and let them drop. “Tab and Mal welcomed me in their own unique little way. They only mean well.”

“I would have never guessed Queen De’va would go that far.” Adora admitted. “I don’t really have words for it. All I can say is, if I could go back and handle things more calmly...” Adora shook her head at that. “Even so, it all seems a little extreme.”

“You put her in an impossible position, Adora.” Glimmer spoke up. Adora shrank back, but looked to Glimmer, finally listening. The young Queen sighed. “Mal has a responsibility to all of her people, not just Tab, to not disrupt the Alliance for a pure whim. You did a lot of damage to it. An extreme action to set it back on track might have been a bit much…” Glimmer winced when she looked over to Tab, “but I’m not sure what other options she had that would both keep the peace and give Tab a chance. I’m sure every day for the last two weeks she had to keep her people from rioting onboard.”

“I’m worried the two of them are going to hate each other now.” Catra whispered. “I don’t even know what I would do if it came to that. The Purrsia would be so different.”

The four of them lulled into a quiet. Glimmer walked back over to Bow, leaning into him slightly. Adora leaned on the wall. Catra held Tab’s hand. There was barely a breath when Tab stirred a little. Groaning with pain, they shifted on the bed, gripping Catra’s hand tighter.

“Grima…I’m sorry.” They whispered. None of them said anything, waiting for Tab to settle.

“How come they’re not completely better?” Bow wondered.  
“I can heal injuries, but weeks of hardly eating?” Adora shook her head. “That’s beyond She-ra.”

Glimmer clapped her hands together. “Then we should get them to eat!” She suggested. “What does Tab like to eat?”

“Way too many ‘instant noodle packs’.” Catra chuckled. “Probably not doctor recommended.”  
“No. Probably not.” Bow added. 

They sat together in silence, before Adora sighed, looking at the door.

“Maybe things aren’t yet done with Adam with the whole spies thing?” Adora proposed.  
Catra scowled. “Or maybe Mal just isn’t going to show up.”

*

Tallstar didn’t like to be pushed and shoved. She didn’t like to be told what to do, and most of all, she didn’t like people pretending a meeting was all friendly smiles when it wasn’t. She glowered when she was brought to a small room in the Purrsia. Tom stood behind her. Behind him? Percival and Magus Angora. A good intelligence broker always knew the names.

“Leave us.” Queen De’va commanded the three men.  
“Are you sure?” Tom asked softly.

“I think we’ll have a more honest conversation without an audience. Stay outside where you can hear me if I scream or there’s a ruckus.” Queen De’va instructed. “I doubt it will be necessary.” She added dismissively, and Tallstar’s eyes narrowed. “She isn’t a threat.”

The other three shuffled out of the room and Tallstar glared at her, thinking how easy it would be to lunge across this small table and reach around her neck. The Queen stared back unblinkingly before bending down and taking out a set of daggers. The silent action spoke volumes. She had weapons. Likely more than the ones she just openly displayed. Tallstar sighed. 

“You’re good at what you do for an amature.” Great. Starting with backhanded compliments.  
“I’ll have you know I’m an expert info broker.”  
“Really?” A chuckle. “Well, I’ll admit you have information that I don’t. Information I want.”  
Tallstar’s eyes went wide. Straight to the point. How refreshing. “You want to buy my services?”

Queen De’va seemed agitated as she shifted in her chair. “I have my own spies. Better spies to be quite frank. I don’t need you in my employ. But some things are time sensitive and I know you already have the data. This is just more expedient.”

“Then what do you want?”  
“I thought you cut ties with Kittrina?” A hand drifted to her lips, covering them.  
“It’s complicated.”  
“Complicated enough for you to be sending coded messages?”  
“Did you intercept them?” Tallstar put together. Were those responses I received faked?”

“No, only monitored.” The Queen sat taller with effort, pain flashing in her eyes. “I had more to gain from allowing them through and watching what you got back than tipping you both off that I knew.” She explained. “I understand the only reason you had contact with your former boss is because you still feared for your siblings? I understand that pain well.” Tallstar glared. “Give me everything you know about Princess Sunda, her daughter Princess Kittrina, Chief Carnivus and King Randor.” The Queen brokered, “In exchange, I’ll make sure your siblings are safe.” She folded her hands, “and for a small sum from the Royal Treasury, a tiny sliver of land and citizenship for you and your siblings, get me everything you can on Adam’s faction as covertly as possible, and stay in touch with Kittrina making it look like you’ve infiltrated us.”

“Well...who would have guessed that? You don’t fully trust Blond Boy, do you?”

“Don’t get mistaken. I admire and trust Adam. So much so that I would happily put my life in his hands, but his military is stronger.” Queen De’va laced her fingers together and placed her folded hands on the table. If we want to ultimately be sovereign from Eternia, even with him at the helm, we need to be seen as equal. What we can’t have in numbers and therefore might, we should strive for with information. It’s only prudent.”

“Netting yourself some insurance just in case, huh? You really are a Queen raised by the ‘Verse.” Tallstar snorted. “And if I say no?”

“Pray Kittrina doesn’t have a temper tantrum and double back on her part of your deal. I can circumvent that by making sure your siblings are out of harm's way long before that. The thing is, I don’t need you to make my goals possible. You just happen to be a factor that would make what I am trying to do easier.”

“Not really a fair option for me, is it?”  
“Sadly, that’s what happens when you’re stuck between two forces much bigger than you are.”

Tallstar grit her teeth hating how blaise the Queen was. “So you’re taking advantage of me.”  
“Yes.” She admitted without hesitation. “That’s war, but I do think my compensation is kind.”  
“And that little display where you beat your lover half to death?”

Tallstar smirked, expecting something, a gasp, a look of discomfort. All she got were cold, mismatched eyes staring at her.

“Every story needs a hero. Attempting to turn this new Eternia against their long lost Princess when Adam dots on her is an exercise in futility.” The Queen gestured with her right hand. It was covered in a white glove again. “Princess Adora made Tabby the villain in her original skew of events. Now, the narrative has shifted: the Queen of Panthera shows the utmost loyalty to the shared Theran and Eternian cause. If Eternia asks for retribution, the Queen of Panthera is so committed she would punish her own spouse. Eternia must then show the same commitment.”

“This...was all planned.”

“I hate corporal punishment.” The way she spoke of it was like saying ‘I hate snow.’ It was too casual. “It’s something we still have, remnants from the days when Capital Punishment still existed for all serious crimes, not just attempting to assassinate the Crown. Believe it or not, that law only changed about sixteen and a half years ago when the Queen was murdered.” 

“So you changed the law to save your own ass?” Tallstar snorted.

“No, the late Crown Prince Devon D’Riluth canvassed our people. Then he approached our senate to ban the law, halting what should have been a public execution. All to spare his little sister whom he always knew and believed to be innocent and didn’t deserve to die. Too bad she was so scared of being assassinated that she ran away anyways.” The Queen frowned and looked at Tallstar sternly, “My older brother, Von, believed in me. I promised I would honour his memory by making Panthera a kingdom he would have been proud to lead as its rightful King.”

“And so you need to take the next step by pushing for more laws to change?”

“Exactly. The only way change happens is if people see what is wrong with the status quo. A child dying for a murder she didn’t commit so that the culprit can hide that he was responsible? The idea that a violent crime must be met with violence -- without ever stopping to try and understand the reason that act of violence happened to begin with? These are flaws I plan to remove from my people.” Queen De’va sighed and uncrossed her legs before crossing them the other way. “Now I have a solid case.” Her lips quirked. “The Princess of Eternia in this narrative is an incredibly merciful woman who saved a poor Theran from their punishment that could have crippled them. Major Manx will go on to be a hero in the war proving they’ve been reformed -- setting a new precedent where the need for corporal punishment is questioned. Everyone wins.”

“You doctored it to garner sympathy.” Tallstar realized. “You’re sick, using people like that.”

A smile. “Very.” She slid over a paper. “A reminder: your new legs will cost quite a bit. I’ll waive that cost as well if you accept. If you do very well, I’ll even sweeten the deal to get you better arms.” A saccharine smile. “Do consider it. We’ll look to launch soon. Our absence should help things cool down on Starship Eternia and allow Adam to do some much needed cleanup without it looking like I meddle too much with his internal affairs.” Tallstar stood up, and Queen De’va rose as well. “Percival.” she called to the door.

The grey furred, green eyed Theran emerged into the room and bowed to her. “Your Majesty.”

“Take her back to Adam’s ship. Guard her. Watch her.” Then she paused. “Always. Okay?”  
“Your wish is my will and I will make it so.”

“Thank you.” Queen De’va looked up to the spy. “We’ll talk again tomorrow, okay?” With Tallstar out of the room, she shuffled towards the door herself, her gait unsteady, only to catch Tom’s grey eyes when she got to the doorway. He looked at her with worry.

“Are you...going to go see Tab?”

“I’d love to, really.” Mal’s entire body language changed. Gone was the confident smile, replaced by a grimace of pain, the bright fierceness of her eyes dulled to a wary exhaustion. She no longer stood straight. She slouched, her weight almost all on her right leg as she leaned into the doorway itself. “but it seems,” she staggered from that resting place, stumbling towards him, her tail fell low, between her legs “now is a good time to,” her legs buckled, tired, overexerted, falling to the floor “finally rest.”

Tom caught her before she could hit the ground, and looked up to Magus Angora. “She’s practically burning up!”

“Ignoring every bit of medical advice you receive tends to do that.” Magus Angora commented quietly. “How is her breathing?”

“Shallow.” Tom shook her gently but got no response. “Damn it, she was just unconscious!”  
“Take her to her room for now.”  
Tom scooped Mal into his arms. “Are you serious, teacher?”  
“She’s been running on fumes and medications for days now. She needs rest.”  
“Did she lose her common sense when they locked up Tab?” Tom growled.  
Magus Angora looked at his daughter mournfully. “Perhaps.”  
“What the bloody hell is she thinking? I’m taking her to StarShip Eternia for medical assistance.”

“Forest, bring Her Majesty to her room on Purrsia.” Magus Angora stood up straight. “That’s a direct order from her. I’ve been told that under no circumstances are we to seek medical aid for her unless it’s life threatening.”

Tom’s shoulders dropped. His eyes fell on Mal’s scrunched face. He cradled her like she was something precious, glaring at her father all the same. Until he heard her stir in his arms.

“I’m so sorry...lovely.”

Tom looked to Mal, then to Magus Angora who looked like his heart was being torn to shreds by watching. “What the hell is she thinking?”

“That she needs to be punished for using her tremendous authority against someone she cares about.” Magus Angora shifted with agitation, “Her mother was much the same. It’s why I never got a position on the Council as the representative of the Cait Sith.” He sighed, hands folding over his staff. “C’yra blamed herself, naturally. Just like De’va is now for Tab.”

“And who the hell does that help at the end of the day?” Tom grumbled. His grey eyes met with Magus Angora’s tired blue ones before he shook his head. “You’re her freaking Dad. You really gonna stand there and let her risk losing her life over something so...so stupid? Tab’s still alive, and yeah they’re gonna be in a foul mood about all this, but Tab and Mal still have a chance to figure it out between them if they want. A chance you lost with the late Queen C’yra. A chance I’m sure you still wish you had!” 

“Don’t speak to me like you understand the relationships I had with Her Former Majesty or Her Majesty! ” Came a warning hiss. Then a sigh. “De’va didn’t want to be Queen. Sunda and I, we pushed her into it. I always saw how much De’va was like C’yra. I hoped it would ease the ache. Put Panthera back on track. Sunda did it because she couldn’t stand the pressure and dumped it on De’va. We were both selfish and we took De’va’s choice away from her.” Angora’s voice was one of self condemnation. “I’m not going to take De’va’s choices away from her ever again.” 

“That’s well and good and all, but as a parent sometimes you have to think about taking their choices from them for their own good.” Tom shifted his arms so he was cradling Mal, gently, holding her close to his chest and feeling how flushed and warm she was. “Otherwise you’re gonna find yourself burying yet another one of your children.” He stomped off but could have sworn he heard Magus Angora quietly responding.

“I know. You do too, Forrest. The Parents of Dead Children is one of the worst clubs to join.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a chapter I have been waiting for you folks to see for a few weeks now and I'm a little...torn as an author.
> 
> I love my character drama and the fluff that comes once the character drama is over. I love the fluffy heart break that is something like two spouses finding themselves in a terrible predicament that splits them apart and then thinking of the other while they're finally resting. 
> 
> I love seeing the BFS stepping up and taking responsibility as adults. I love me some Bow showing us why he is often the heart of the show, and I love Adora having tender moments with Catra, even if strained (and there will be an increase in those tender moments happening moving forward). I think the best way to see the greatest aspects of certain types of characters is to see their worst and best. Glimmer had her turn. Adora has now. 
> 
> Mal and Tab are about to have their fair shake of this too, with special bonus of Adam (especially next chapter which I'm particularly nervous about). Characters like to zig when you want them to zag, and where this story ends up (especially since I decided to move all Etheria stuff to another story) had one character in particular making a surprising decision later that I'm not sure how folks are going to feel about it, but there is a logic to what that certain someone does that makes sense to them, even if it's a little bit fucked up on their part.
> 
> I think the hardest part of some of the next few chapters is showing how, despite the airs she gives, truly fucked up Mal is and can be, and doing this in a way that doesn't seem over dramatic or unsympathetic to the fact that she has suffered trauma, while also not excusing her for her at times reprehensible behaviour. The balance is hard because she refuses to have her thinking get pinned down easily, though a soon to happen confrontation might change the lens that you view a lot of things she does through. Let's just say someone has her number and they're about to dial it, and maybe they might take their point and push it a little too far. (If you are a lover of TV tropes.com, I think that confrontation counts as a "the reason you suck" moment).
> 
> We've gotten glimpses before: the fact that she refers to herself as 'almost a monster'. Killing the patrol officers, while motivated by the sexual aggression they showed towards her is questionable at the very least and flat out over the top and immoral otherwise. The whole thing about her making a pact with Grimalkin is pretty sus, and her reluctance to divulge the exact details behind it doesn't help, though her comment to Glimmer should cause even more questions about circumstances. How much of a deal are you really striking under duress?
> 
> I want to say more, but I feel like I'd be giving away spoilers, so instead I'll reserve more of that talk for next chapter.
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “We haven’t cuddled like this in years.”  
> “No, we certainly haven’t.” He agreed.  
> “It feels good.” Mal let her hand land on his knee. “Comforting.”  
> “It is! And your ears are still so fuzzy and cute!” Adam grinned. Mal rolled her eyes.  
> “You’re lucky I like you, jackass.”


	25. “I don’t care if that wasn’t your intention. I know what it felt like.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer reassures Catra that she is friends with Catra because she is Catra and that their friendship has nothing to do with Adora.  
> A worried Adam confronts Mal on something he overturned about her recent actions. Both of them push each other too far.  
> Adora officially joins the Purrsia crew and Catra finds herself hopeful and apprehensive. They have a much needed talk.  
> Tallstar finds out the hard way that there's always someone who can play 'the game' better than you.  
> As Tab decides to put some space between them, Mal spirals in her own despair.
> 
> CW: drug use/prescription abuse, and mentions of past sexual assault and trauma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Tuesday! Happy Update!
> 
> Despite the content warnings this is (mostly) a breather chapter. Think of it as a bow on the StarShip Eternia saga. For now. There are some echoing ramifications for everything that went down. Most notably Tab and Mal being on the rocks and as you can guess from the summary...Mal likes to dig deep holes.
> 
> As always feel free to leave a comment and I'll be sure to respond!  
> Kudos mean a lot as well!
> 
> Likes and reviews as always are encouragement so keep it coming :)

Hey Adora,

Do you think just saying ‘sorry’ is going to be enough? I know you’re working on making it up to us and honestly, how quickly Tab decided to give you a chance on board surprised me…

Then again. Tab gave me a chance really quickly and the first thing I did was attack Mal.

Speaking of her, she’s more surprising. She’s not confronting you or anything. I wonder if that’s her way of just giving everyone a lot of space right now?

I just wanted to say that I do see you trying to make it better, but it’s hard to make up for something as awful as using your power over someone against them. At the same time though, I have to realize that it is both Mal and Tab’s call to make since they are the ones you hurt the most with all this. So...please do right by them.

As for me? I think I just need a little time.

Catra

*

Another bowl large enough to bathe an infant in was placed in front of Tabby. Just like the other six before it, the Theran practically inhaled its contents: noodles, meat, veggies, broth and all. Adora found it amusing. Tabby wasn’t particularly a small person, per say. The Captain of the Purrsia had these broad shoulders and densely corded arms. Their thighs could probably snap someone’s neck. Still, Adora couldn’t help but wonder where they were packing all that food away. They were taller than Adora. Not as tall as She-ra though, that honour went to Tom, who sat beside his captain, looking out of place in a chair too small for his giant frame. His eyebrows raised high when Tab started coughing and sputtering.

“They’re just...noodles for Lynx sake!” The older Theran lightly bopped Tab’s nose.   
“But they’re good noodles!” Tab protested, covering their nose. “Homemade and everythin’!”  
“That’s because you’ve been eating trash for nearly a month, and then next to nothing.”  
A loud slurp. Choking, then Tab hitting their chest to clear it. “Still really good!”

“Goddess help me.” Tom grumbled.  
“Try some Tom!”  
“I’ll pass. Your spit is probably all in it by now.” Tom crossed his arms.  
“Man, no need to be gross! Suit yourself! You don’t know what you’re missin’, but more for me!”  
“We’re on a ship like Eternia and yet you could single handedly eat everything couldn’t you?”  
“Healin’ up takes tons of energy!” Tab declared, gulping down. “I could eat anythin’ in sight!”

“Luckily Adam feels bad enough about everything that he’s footing the bill. Mal would scream.”  
Maybe Adora imagined it, but Tab ate faster. “Pretty cool of him.” They mumbled around food.  
“Slow down before you make yourself sick, would you? That would defeat the entire purpose!”

Adora chuckled at the two of them, her eyes searching Tab’s form for any indication of hurt or pain. Instead she just saw barely noticeable, long red marks on the skin of their arms she was unable to heal completely as She-Ra. They were raised welts, but Tab paid them no mind.

“I’m glad you’re starting to feel better.” Adora spoke up, and Tab stopped eating, putting the bowl down. She peaked. It was empty. Somehow. Didn’t they have a limited space for their bladder at least?

“Well,” Tab wiped their mouth with the back of their wrist with one hand. They were about to do it on the other side, but stopped, staring at it instead. Adora noted the coiled, what she thought was a choker, on Tab’s wrist, “I can’t get better without the energy. You might have jumped started the process and helped a ton but my body still has to do the rest. That requires energy.”

“Theran physiology is quite interesting. You guys heal quicker from some injuries than we do.”

“Evolution.” Tab responded, growing somber, “the sort of things we had to do to survive as a species, we kind of had to be a little harder to kill than the average Hume.” Tab held up a finger. “We didn’t have the same technological advances a lot of Hume’s did to make our lives easier -- when you physically possess two forms, it’s a bit of a headache to make something that properly accommodates both. Usually one or the other had the solution. Then add that we relocated twice, and well, we’re hardy things.”

“I’m getting that sense.” Adora smirked.

“Plus we totally have nine lives!” Tab chuckled. Adora wasn’t certain if they were serious or not, but they added after counting on their hands, “I may be at five now though, phooey.”

Tom scoffed. “I thought you said six?”  
“Drank too much in the last few weeks before the Princess here threw me in jail!”

Adora tried not to wince at the barb thrown casually in her direction. “Again, I’m sorry.”

“I probably choked.” Came a grin, ignoring Adora’s apology.  
The older Theran covered his face. “Ugh. Why am I not surprised?” Adora took a breath. They were making small talk. All of them knew it, but there was an elephant in the room, one that had been bothering her for some time.

“So...about what I said?” Adora began.  
“You, Archer and Her Royal Nuisance can come with us.” Tab dismissed out of hand.  
“Really...you’re okay with that? No conditions no~”

“If you shoot me or cut me with your sword, I do reserve the right to deck you in the face a few times. Somewhere between seven to eleven? Then you’re free to hit back.” Tab grinned.

“What about Queen De’va? Should I ask her too?” Adora asked very gently. She quickly regretted the question. Tab’s tail puffed up. Their lips pulled back in a snarl.

“I don't personally know ‘Queen De’va.’ I know a Grimalkin.” Tab growled, “And Grimalkin doesn’t own MY boat. If she’s gotta problem with who I have on board, she can always leave.”

Tom sighed, and shot a worried glance to Adora. Adora’s breath caught in her throat. It looks like she might have to help fix something else she broke.

“We’re planning on picking up and leaving tomorrow, so can you get yourself packed?”  
“So soon?” Adora asked, taken aback.

“They said as long as I don’t do anything too physically strenuous for a couple of weeks, I’m good to go. So no hand to hand combat for me.” Tab’s grin was a little too easy, too bright, too big. Manufactured. Fake.

“We don’t have to rush off,” Adora tried to convince them, “even a couple of days might be~”

“Do you really think I want to be around here any longer?” Tabby’s expression darkened. “As for the rest of the crew, Mog’s fine now. They say Grimalkin is well enough to travel too if she keeps resting, so for now she’s banned from anything that isn’t medic duty, setting up our Nav routes or being the copilot. That’s what we’re going to do. I’m the captain so the final decision has always been and will always be mine.”

“Tab.” Tom bit out in warning, shooting them a look. Tab rolled their eyes.

“Tough luck to her if she doesn’t like it, but again, she can stay here if she wants with her beloved Prince Adam for all I care.” Tab scoffed, and then looked to Adora, “Anyways, with more hands, like yours,” Tab batted their eye lashes and teasingly covered Adora’s hands with one of their own, “we can compensate with her being dead weight for a little while.”

Adora didn’t know how to respond to that. She didn’t like how coldly Tab spoke of their own wife. She bit her bottom lip and nodded.

“Sure thing, Captain.”

*

“How do these ones feel now?” Mog’s voice was soft as he knelt by Tallstar. She looked at Bow and Entrapta huddled over something in the workshop and when Mog backed away from her, she gave an experimental lift of one leg, then the other. Then she closed her eyes and focused and both legs extended.

“Wicked work.”  
“Symmetry is important, you know.” Mog hummed, “we’re working on some new arms for you.”  
“Really? Why?”   
“The Queen said to do it.” He grumbled, pushing off. Tallstar felt that uneasy pit in her stomach.

“And just where is the Queen right now?” She couldn’t help but ask.

“Not really your business.” He mumbled, “or mine.” He walked over to Bow and Entrapta and peered over their shoulders, his height making it all too easy to peep in. “How’s it going guys?” He asked. Bow’s face was scrunched in what Mog had to admit was the cutest look of concentration. Entrapta was spinning on a chair fast enough to make Mog dizzy, so he focused on Bow, watching his fingers brushing across the newest sketch.

“What are your thoughts?” Bow asked.

“I think the trickiest part is the shoulder articulation. I honestly don’t have as much experience in figuring that one out. All of Queen De’va’s hand prosthetics are partial hand ones.” He looked to Entrapta, who steadied herself when he called out to her and stopped spinning “Hey Entrapta, what are your thoughts on this shoulder joint? Or the other two you got here?”

“I mean...that would be partially dependent on how it works for the wearer, right?” Entrapta noted. They all turned together, looking at Tallstar. There was a gleam in Entrapta’s and Mog’s eyes in particular that they didn’t like. “The rest of the arms are the same except the shoulders. We already have several mock ups so we could just make several pairs and have her try them.”  
“Oh no. You want me to be a guinea pig again.”

“Just think of it,” Mog proclaimed, “by helping me with this, you’re making me better. Think of all the Therans with lost limbs I could help.”

Tallstar just sighed.

*

Glimmer heard the sound of something crashing on the deck below them close by the Medical bay. She tried not to jump, even though she had done so the other ten or so times this happened. She held her breath, waiting for some sign: a call for help. No. That would never come. A scream? No. That would have happened by now. Sobbing maybe?

“Relax, Sparkles.” Catra’s voice caught her attention. Glimmer turned to her, and curious, looked at the sprawl of what seemed to be a series of weeds in her hand. Catra lined them up and placed them on a rack like device before sliding it into what looked like a tiny oven. “If it was that bad, we would have heard her screaming by now. She’s probably curled up on the floor again. She’ll figure out how to get herself back on her bed when she’s ready.”

“You can’t be okay leaving her like that, are you?” Catra slammed the door to the oven like device a little too hard and clicked a setting, then she squatted to check.

“I’m not okay about a lot of things right now.” Catra was flustered, “If we know where Chief Carnivus is, we should go after him. We take him out and then we’re done. I don’t know what Tab’s thinking going off on some random jobs and helping Tallstar while that looms over us.”

“If we take him out,” Glimmer asked, walking around the table. “what happens after that?”  
“Then you and Adora can have your happy little lives on Etheria and I can live mine.”  
“You don’t want us around anymore.” Glimmer’s head dipped. 

“You were saying it wasn’t your problem earlier, so don’t make it.” Catra replied simply, going to the sink and grabbing a towel to wipe her hands. “Everyone around here used to push each other’s buttons, but nothing like this.” Catra crossed her arms. “Mog seems to hate Mal now. Mal hates herself. Tom’s worrying about Mal and Tab but Mal refuses to be fussed over. Tab hasn’t spoken to Mal or Mal to them, and I’m just watching them be too stubborn to talk or too stubborn to accept anything but their own suffering.”

A slight smile touched Glimmer’s lips. “Sounds like someone else I know.”

“Shut up Sparkles.” The barest hint of a smile pulled at Catra’s lips, then faded. “I can’t help but wonder if it would have ever gotten this way if you, Adora and the others didn’t show up.”

“Maybe you should talk to Adora about that?”

“What good’s that going to do? You heard her. She expects to go home and have everything back to normal in her comfy little life. She’ll probably start playing hero again and expect me to be happy being stuck as the sidekick getting whatever’s left of everything she has.” Catra quietly hissed at that, her jaw clenched. 

“Catra,” Glimmer slid a bit closer, “I don’t think that’s what Adora really meant, and I’m pretty sure with everything that just happened, she might have a much different view on things now.”

“Well maybe she needs to say that, instead of expecting me to read her mind.”  
Glimmer put her fists on her hips. “Nice to meet you. Is your name “Pot”?”

“Oh no! No, no no! You can’t compare me freaking out about Adora not telling me what she wants to me not telling her that I’m freaking out about what I thought she said she wants.”

Glimmer tried to make that last statement make sense. The argument was circular at best and a complete tangle to make sense of. No matter what she did, it only seemed more confusing. So she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Have you tried telling her about what you’re worried about?” Glimmer tried instead.

“No. Look.” Catra grumbled, “I’m not saying I don’t want to be friends with you and Archer boy -- but I don’t want you to be my friend just because Adora is your friend. I don’t have that problem here. They don’t know Adora. Hell, I don’t think Mal even likes Adora after that whole blow up. Why would I give this up? Better yet, why does Adora expect me to give that up for her when she couldn’t give you guys up for me?”

“That...stung.” Glimmer murmured softly. Catra quickly realized her misteap.  
“Look, Sparkles! You’re great! A little bit annoying but~”  
“I’m not your friend just because you’re important to Adora.” Glimmer refuted, speaking over her.  
“Well how do I know that for sure?” Catra huffed in challenge.

“Remember when we were stuck on Horde Prime’s ship?” Glimmer reminded her.  
“You could have done it because you knew Adora would be devastated otherwise.”

“Not everything is about Adora, okay!” Glimmer threw her hands up in the air, “I love Adora. Maybe in a way she’ll never return because she has you --”

“Wait, you mean you’re in love with--”

“But I have no intention of making my entire life revolve around Adora, and neither should you. I saved you because I didn’t want to break free if that meant leaving you behind!”

Catra looked at her in dumb shock for a moment. “Really? Why?”

Glimmer’s face flushed red. “Trust me. It wasn’t for Adora’s sake. I wasn’t trying to earn any points with her. I did it because...well because,” Glimmer fidgeted, “because I really care about you. I love you. I just know Adora’s the only one you have space for.”

Catra stared at her stunned. “You’re in love with me? But you just said that you loved~”  
“I know what I just said!” Glimmer shouted.  
“So you love Adora more than me or…”

“It’s not a competition, okay!” Glimmer gritted her teeth, “I love you both, but that’s not how things work and it’s clear you want to be with Adora so I wouldn’t dream to get in your way.”

“Oh. Really?”  
“How about you just trust me on that and move on?” Glimmer asked, blushing madly.  
“Right, well what if she and I have an argument and she says ‘they were my friends first’?”  
“I’ll tell her she’s being an collossial asshole.” Glimmer shot back.  
“She’s like that sometimes with me. I don’t think she always notices.”  
“Well I do, and when I point it out, we fight but she and I work it out eventually.”

Catra blinked at that. “Does she stop?”

“It’s a work in progress. Have you told Adora that it upsets you?” Glimmer asked, raising an eyebrow. “How do you expect her to fix it if she doesn’t know?” Catra went silent and she sighed, shaking her head. “Well...I understand why you wish we didn’t come here,” Glimmer reached out for Catra, who flinched at the movement, and realizing this, she drew back, watching Catra warily relax a little. “but I’m glad we did. No. I’m glad I did.”

“Why’s that?” Catra tilted her head.

“Because, I always wanted to see you happy, and Adora as well.” Glimmer closed her eyes and took a breath. “I want to help you with this in whatever way we can. I want to help you. Really. Because you’re my friend Catra.” For a moment she hesitated, but then she took the chance, grabbing Catra’s hand. “I see the way everyone on this ship looks at you or asks about you. It reminds me a bit of my Mom -- they seem about as overbearing as Mom could be sometimes too -- and I’m happy you have that. Finally.”

“Thanks Glimmer.” Catra squeezed her hand.

“Besides,” Glimmer looked at her, “maybe travelling around the universe could be good for all of us? There’s still a lot to do back home, but who’s to say we can’t make occasional visits and learn more? After things are settled here, maybe Mal will invite us to Panthera? See your homeland? Maybe Brightmoon can be sister Kingdoms with them all over again?”

“I appreciate how optimistic you are.” Catra patted Glimmer on the head. Glimmer’s eyes lit up.  
“It got you to smile, right?” Glimmer smiled herself. “Besides, Mal and I could be great friends.”

“If she doesn’t tear you to pieces first.” Catra snickered, “though you probably have more of a chance than Adora does. Mal doesn’t exactly care for the whole ‘girl scout’ routine.”

“She seems to like that I call her Mal instead of Queen De’va like everyone else but you and Tom right now.” Glimmer pointed out, puffing out her chest. Catra blinked at the realization.

“Huh. When did that happen?”

“She asked me for a favour or two.” Glimmer beamed. “I told her the people she could be ‘Mal’ with are precious and I got where she was coming from -- one Queen to another. She cried.”

Catra chuckled. “Now if you really don’t want her to tear you into pieces, never mention she cried over such a sentimental thing while in arm’s reach, and be prepared to run from Claudine.”

“Duly noted!” Glimmer grinned, “but, for the record, she was cute.”  
“Rolling my eyes now Sparkles.” 

Another crash. This time they heard a shout. Glimmer and Catra jumped from each other as if they were burnt and began heading through the kitchen, towards the crew deck when they saw someone up ahead with a sword at his hip. Catra noticed Melog was in front of him, hissing.

“Easy! Easy! I just want to go down and check!”  
“Adam?” Catra called. He waved.  
“Mind if I am the one who peeks in this time?”

Catra hesitated, then whistled. Melog stopped hissing and walked back over to her. “Go ahead.”

*

Adam had been on the Purrsia only a handful of times since Tabby Manx had acquired the ship eight years ago and loudly declared that they were leaving StarShip Eternia and taking the youngest Princess of Panthera with them. It was one of the rare moments where he had been rather blindsided: in a span of barely a year De’va went from being hot and cold with Adam because she was practically frightened of her own shadow to basically eloping with Tab. Granted it still took the two of them another year before they were considering each other spouses, but the whiplash of De’va’s sudden change in her approach to romantic relationships still made his head spin when he thought about it.

He wasn’t sure of all the details that led to Purrsia being in Tab’s hands and branded as the vessel of the Cymric Cooperative -- then only consisting of Tab, De’va and Tom at the time. When he asked De’va about it, she gave him a coquettish smile and ensured that Tab had procured this older ship through ‘mostly legal’ activities during their off duty hours prior to leaving the military. He had a feeling he didn’t want to know more.

Adam chose to let it go. In the Verse, you often did better if you didn’t ask too many questions.

Even still, the layout was fairly straight forward, and he found himself in the crew cabins. He had to pause -- part of the biggest reason he never came on board was because Starship Eternia had more than fifty times the space of this thing, and because it was Tab’s space, through and through. If he were a Theran, he was sure he’d be able to smell it. As he wasn’t, he was spared that, but he couldn’t help but feel like Tab was extra prickly with him if he was even remotely physically intimate with De’va on the Purrsia. Something as simple as a hug could sour the captain’s mood towards him in a way that didn’t happen when they were on his ship. Nevermind his custom to kiss De’va on the cheek and her tendency to turn her head so it just caught the edge of her lips. De’va said it was mostly Tab’s personality and not Theran instinct, but Adam also knew De’va tended to downplay certain tendencies Therans had. It was as if part of her worried he would equate her and her people to being nothing more than some wild beasts like many Eternians did.

All this was to say that Prince Adam of Eternia wasn’t sure what room De’va was in -- whether it was her ‘own’ room or the Captain’s room instead -- goodness, he hoped not. He knew Therans could smell who was in their space until the day after, and Tab would flip.

So he was relieved -- sort of -- when he heard a crash, and then a yelp from directly below him. He found the hatch and opened it and was greeted by Melog -- Catra’s familiar, he recalled De’va said. Then Catra herself.

“Mind if I am the one who peeks in this time?”

Catra gave her blessing, and Adam walked down the steep stairs. Unlike the layout of other rooms from what he knew, De’va room was odd. Half of it was taken up by these large lock boxes. He knew what they were. He had helped her take what she could from Eternian ships years ago: old relics of House D’Riluth. Her mother’s personal weapons from her time in the war, like her twin daggers. The crown itself. The rest of it? Still on Panthera which was being led by Carnivus now, with Adam himself for the bigger things or still with his father. The bed in here, to accomodate all the extra stuff was pushed into a corner, opposite of a small desk.

De’va was on the ground, on her side. Adam rushed over her, while looking about. She was in shorts -- probably because it was easier right now, and her leg was on. By the bathroom he noticed what looked like a leg brace for her other leg. That she wasn’t wearing.

“How is the weather down there?” Adam grinned a little too brightly.  
“Shut the fuck up Adam, or I’ll whip your ass.”  
“Kind of like you do Tab?” He teased. “I’m not sure they’d appreciate us partaking in that.”

The growl he got was outright menacing. “I know what you meant, but given what just happened, say that again and I swear to Lynx I’ll rip your throat out.”

“Moody much?” He chuckled at her, watched her roll over on her back with a wince. 

“I slipped and fell. That’s all.” Adam gazed into her eyes and frowned. They were unfocused. He pressed his lips into a firm line. “What is it, Adam?”

“Are you sure that’s all there is to it?” He offered his hand. She smacked it away.  
“Pretty sure. My legs hurt, the room was spinning. I fell, no big deal.”  
“Spinning?” Adam noted pointedly. “It’s been a month and two transfusions. Can’t be bloodloss.”  
“Cut to the chase, Adam. Just what are you getting at?”

“Three Theran soldiers in the last couple of days went to the doctor complaining of pain from recent injuries. They got a refill prescription of painkillers. Then, when the room inspection came by we realized none of them had those pills in their room. Ship protocol says those have to be kept in lock boxes only the soldier and Warrant Officer have keys to access.”

“Are you accusing me of getting my own people to give me a shit ton of painkillers?”  
Adam shook his head. “Of course not. I saw them meet Percy who went to the Purrsia, De’va.”  
“Fucking hell.” Mal threw her arm over her face. “Look. It’s not what it looks like.”

“Oh, is that right?” Adam walked over to the bed and sat, propping his cheek on his fist. Mal rolled onto her shoulder to look at him. He noticed her eyes again. Definitely dilated. “Enlighten me, because from here it seems you’re setting yourself up for a really, really bad time.”

“I don’t know when we’re going to stop somewhere that I can meet up with your crew.”  
“So your solution is to have as many pain killers on hand as possible? Yeah. Dumb idea.”

“I can control myself, you know.” Mal assured, finally moving her arms back, propping up on her elbows, looking up at him. “That’s what it comes to in the end. ‘Is it controlled?’ If I’m able to have a normal life then it’s doing its job. How is that a detriment to me?”

“And what happens when the right dose isn’t enough anymore?” Adam sighed. “I prefer you being in more contact with me so we can have a doctor keep an eye on you.”

“Not necessary.”  
“Then stay and heal more. That way you’re in less pain and can start off on a lower dose.”  
“No can do. Tab wants to go now, and I plan to be with them. That isn’t negotiable.”

“Tab would never do anything that has the risk of making you more ill, no matter how pissed they are with you, De’va.” Adam rolled his eyes, “I know that as well as you do.”

Mal rubbed her arms as if she was cold. “You don’t know anything.” She complained petulantly.

“If Tab is even half the person I believe them to be, they care more about your wellbeing than their anger or discomfort.” Adam grumbled. “If you had to stay longer, they would wait.” Adam sighed, shaking his head, “the fact that you think the best course of action is to have one of the Theran doctors on board to give his blessing that you’re well enough to leave is just~” Adam made a sound “he’s getting disciplined, by the way.”

“Not your jurisdiction.” Mal scowled. “He was following an order. My order as his Queen.”  
“He is in opposition of his oath. On my ship. You abusing your rights only makes it worse.”  
“What about your pharmacists? You mean they didn’t catch my ruse but your WOs did?”   
“I have a feeling SOMEONE paid them off.”  
“Easily corruptible, huh?” Mal’s lips twitched into a smile. “My, I might have done you a favour.”

“Damn it De’va!” Adam reached down, his arms hooked under her armpits. He felt her fist deck him in the side but ignored it. He lifted her bodily, and flopped backwards on the bed. She fell on top of him, startled, wide eyed. “Don’t do something that’ll hurt you just to prove a point!” She struggled, but he pinned her there, waiting until she exhausted herself. It didn’t take long: she was still recovering. “You think anyone’s going to be happy if you did?”

“I’ll be careful.” Mal murmured into his chest softly. “I promise.”

“I want to trust you. I do. I also know how much of an escapist you are. How easily you turn to numbing or just flat out dissociating when you’re ready. Having something in your possession that makes that easier makes me nervous.”

“It’s just until my legs are better.” Mal promised, her words warm against his collarbones.

“What if they’re never better? Everyday you’ve been here, you’ve complained about how much they hurt or the random spells of weakness or numbness.” He sighed, then gently ran his fingers through her hair. He sighed. “Then you keep pushing and pushing beyond what your body could take and frankly, that might have been the nail in the coffin to getting back to where you were!”

“Tab needs to be far away from here.” Mal insisted, “and I need to be with them. I need to.”

“Fine.” Adam gave in. “How about this: I want you to stay in touch with a doctor I choose on the ship.” Sharp. Painful. Slicing into his thigh. Those were her claws. Yes. He felt it rip through his pants and she pulled away, lifting her body to glare down at him.

“You don’t control me, Adam.” He grabbed her wrist tightly. She winced but didn’t make a sound.  
“Yeah, I don’t, but you know what, it’s not just about you anymore, believe it or not.”  
“I never thought that in the first place!” Mal jerked her hand away but he held it firm.

“You think you can just do whatever you want. Do you realize if Panthera and Eternia became one Kingdom under the two of us, your tendency to just act first is going to cause both of us a lot of problems?” Her hand struck his cheek. His free hand grabbed her second wrist and he watched her struggle for a bit, twisting and turning with enough force to leave bruises on herself.

“Panthera and Eternia are very much seperate people, and there is no ‘us’ Adam.”  
“Fine. I’ll just tell Tab.” Their eyes locked. Blue met mismatched blue and gold, neither relenting.  
“You can’t do that!” Mal gritted between teeth.  
“You’re not giving me much of a choice, De’va. Learn to behave, would you?”  
“Why? Because I’m an uncivilized Theran Savage!?” She snarled.  
“That’s not at all what I’m saying.” Adam defended. “That was poorly worded.”  
“You think?” Her shoulders dropped. “Bastard.”   
“One more thing.” He let go of her wrist, then gently massaged it. She rolled her eyes.  
“What?” Came the hiss as she rolled her other wrist.  
“Take Percival with you. He’s a Theran doctor, right? The one who taught you apothecary?”

Her forehead came smashing into his nose. Then his chest. Adam coughed in surprise, rubbing his nose and sighing. No broken bones. No gushing blood. They stayed like this, a strange pantomime of intimacy and violence. Adam decided to throw caution to the wind and gently kissed her wrist. To his surprise, she pressed her face into the crook of his neck and he felt hot tears against his skin. He let go of her wrists to wrap his arms around her. Both of Mal’s tails wrapped around his thigh.

“Shh. It’s okay.”  
“No it's not!” He could feel her words vibrate against his neck. “Everything’s gone to shit!”  
“Between you and Tab?” He asked gently, fingers tangling in her hair.  
“What the hell else do you think I’m talking about?”   
“Well, things seem okay with us, don’t they? We’re still doing our masochistic tango over here.”  
“Don’t be a jackass.”  
“De’va,” he breathed, “You didn’t have any good options.”  
“I should have thought of something else!”

“Should have. Could have. Would have.” Adam sighed, scratching behind Mal’s ears. “You had a tough situation and a sensitive timeframe. You had to make a call based on the information you had. There was no time to see if you might get more information later.” He gave a slight laugh when Mal’s ears flicked when he teased the edge of one with his finger, but his smile faded when her ears flattened. “That’s what it means to rule sometimes: to do the best you can in a terrible situation and know everyone’s going to hate you for what you did anyways.”

“I have no right to be crying.” She choked out, sniffling and wiping at her cheeks haphazardly.  
Adam kissed her hair. “Of course you do. This was tough on you. Your feelings are real in this.”

“Tab probably hates me now.”

“I don’t think Tab’s happy, they wouldn’t talk to me, as usual.” He sighed, “and they’re quite entitled to that.” Adam assured, “but I wouldn’t go so far as to say they hate you.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”  
“I don’t think they have that in them where you’re concerned.”  
“Well they should hate me.” Mal refuted.

“I’d like to think that Tab went into marrying you knowing the nature of the Crown means any relationship you have can and will be complicated.” Adam soothed, rubbing small circles on Mal’s back. He watched her noticeably relax, some of the tension in her neck disappeared and her head pressed against his chest. They stayed like that for some time.

“I don’t know how we’re going to fix this.” Her voice was scratchy, “Or if we even can.”  
Adam played with her hair and sighed. “Sounds like me and Teela all over again.”  
“Did sticking around cause issues because someone can’t control himself?” Mal snorted.   
“You know, I don’t appreciate you making light of my feelings.”  
“I’m not. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you hundreds of times Adam. Time to let go.”

“It was more Adora, really.” Adam shook his head, “Teela found a way to be okay with our relationship having a more brother-sister dynamic, then my actual sister shows up…”

“She feels pushed out.” Mal caught on quickly. “Especially with your “sort of but not really because it’s complicated” ex fiancee hanging around as well. Between me and Adora -- her place with you -- she must feel like it was threatened.”

“That...makes so much more sense now that you gave it words. You’re good at this.”  
“Jackass. I mean it. Move on already.” Mal snorted, her ears flicking. “Thanks by the way.”  
“For complimenting your skills on reading people’s motivations and behaviours or…”  
“For comforting me, Jackass.” Mal gritted tersely.

“Anytime.” Adam assured, leaning up and kissing the corner of her lips. She surprised him: normally she allowed the barest brush of his lips at the corner of her own. Today she turned her head, and his lips met hers. It was only for a second. He tried not to think much about it. “Are you going to visit before you depart?”

“If it’s not too much trouble?”

“Never.” He watched her struggle to sit up, but waited. If she needed help, she’d tell him. Mal tucked her hair behind her ear and stared at her bed. He sat up beside her and covered her hand with his own. She leaned into him, their shoulders touching.

“We haven’t cuddled like this in years.”  
“No, we certainly haven’t.” He agreed.  
“It feels good.” Mal let her hand land on his knee. “Comforting.”  
“It is! And your ears are still so fuzzy and cute!” Adam grinned. Mal rolled her eyes.  
“You’re lucky I like you, jackass.”  
“Hey! I was just kidding!” Adam pouted, but it turned to worry when he heard her sigh.  
“You were looking after me and reassuring me back then too.”  
“You were a mess. Furious one moment, catatonic the next.”

“Still am sometimes, yet there are people who fell in love with a mess like me anyways.” Adam felt the hair on his neck stand. Mal sighed. “My Kingdom also wants someone like me to lead.”

“You’re resilient, and that resilience is very inspiring, De’va.” Adam assured. “That’s why.”

“You know what nobody ever realizes about being the resilient one?” Mal wrapped her arms around herself, tails flicking. Adam noticed and frowned.

“What is it?” She didn’t meet his eyes, and growing worried, he put a hand on her knee, and leaned forward to catch her gaze. Her eyes were closed. “De’va?”

“It’s lonely.” Mal whispered. “These last few weeks I have felt completely. Utterly. Alone.”

“De’va,” he was kneeling and staring up at her, “I know you. you’ve been through bumps in the road before.” He reached up to frame her face between his hands. “You know you’ll get through it and--” it was quick. He nearly toppled under her sudden weight. His concern gave way to panic that he couldn’t voice with her arms around his neck and mouth on his. Then the panic gave way to a sort of guilty euphoria. Adam let his eyes flutter close. Let his lips part to feel her tongue against his, pulled her closer to him, a leg between her thighs. His hands trailing up her back as he parted from the kiss to press lips to her neck, feeling her hips shift against his.

“Tab,” came a pant, “careful, my leg~” Adam felt reality hit hard. He pushed her away -- sending her sprawling across the floor. 

“What are you doing?” He asked, watching her look at him dazed, flushed, confused.

“Saying shit like…” Mal struggled to get her thoughts together “That whole ‘you’ve been through bumps before’ doesn’t help, Adam.” Mal frowned, pulling herself back into a seated position.

“You think this will?” He looked at her like she had two heads.   
“What would you do if I said yes?” Her eyes trained to the floor. Adam gave her a flat stare.  
“Are you serious right now?” She looked up and leaned in, kissing him again. “De’va!”

“Can’t we…” she reached for his thigh, the same one she clawed earlier, “just pretend,” her face hovered near his as she leaned in, “just for a little while?” Her lips found his again and for a moment he cupped her cheek, felt her chest press flush against his. Then he suddenly remembered this was the Purrsia, and he pushed her away by the shoulders, watching as disappointment grew on her face. “I’m sorry. I just want to forget. Just for a little bit.”

“Right.” Adam could help the slight bit of spite that slipped into his voice, “you want to forget about how terrible you feel -- but it’ll be Tab’s name you’ll say, not mine, right?”

“I,” Mal half nervously giggled, half choked on her words, “don’t know how to respond to that.”

“I think the better thing to reflect on is: what would Tab say about all this?” He demanded, face flushing. Mal’s eyes narrowed.

“Tab can’t have an opinion on something that happens to be none of their business.”  
Adam scowled as he felt Mal’s hand on his thigh creep up and up. “I think it is their business.”  
“They aren’t my keeper. I don’t have to ask permission for what I allow to happen to my body.” 

“Allow to happen to it?” He echoed, feeling so many warning signs in this dangerous back and forth between them now. Adam felt her hand distracting him and immediately knew he had to shut down this entire situation now. He caught her wrist and practically crushed it in his grip, watching her wince, lifting it away from his inner thigh. 

“It’s no-not like Tab would touch me with a ten foot pole now anyways!” Mal hissed, closing an eye. “The Dens may have made me filth, but at least I was going to be the Queen. Now I’m the one who raised a hand against them. Who would want to stay married to a monster like that?”

“Did it ever occur to you in that selfish little mind of yours,” Adam began, his voice barely audible by Hume ears, “that maybe you can’t have it both ways?”

“Adam, what the hell are you on about?” Mal forced a laugh, “If you just don’t want to fuck me, then just say that, would you?” she leaned in and bit his lip gently. He hissed, his free hand landing at her hip. She chuckled. “I get it. I’m too much of a mess for a goody two shoes like you.” He felt his fingers dig into her hip with bruising force and saw her wince. “At least I can still get you all pent up?” She smirked. “Even you’re just mortal after all.”

“No.” Adam grunted. “You don’t get to play that card!” Mal tried to pull away but he held her still and firm. “You know,” he loosened his grip slightly, “As much as you claim otherwise, I’ve known for years De’va -- years, that part of you wants us both, has always wanted us both -- but you’re too scared of it!”

“Adam, we’ve been over this. I could never have with you what I have with Tab.” 

“That’s the point. Tab is Tab and I am myself!” His words echoed in the room. “That fact alone means it was always going to be different!” Adam watched her shake her head, her hands gliding over his waist, his shoulders as she kissed his jaw. “You could have had your thing with Tab AND something with me, but you don’t even want to try!”

“Because I know it’s not going to work in the idyllic little way you imagine it will!”

“Yet you can’t keep your hands to yourself, can you?” Adam felt vindicated when Mal froze, the warmth of her fingers pressed against his skin, under his shirt comforting and infuriating. “At the rate you’re going?” He practically growled when Mal scratched him. “you’re going to have nothing in the end, and you’ll damn well deserve it.” He bent down to take a kiss from her, feeling her gasp, his hand finding its way to the back of her neck. “Why stop digging the hole now?” He tugged at her hair lightly and she gasped, lifting her chin and exposing her neck. He let his teeth find skin there and bit hard. Mal made a strange sound halfway between a moan and a stifled gasp. “Might as well double down on this mistake like with everything else!”

“I appreciate you Adam,” her voice shook, “I really do.” Mal painted a smile on her lips as she kissed the corner of his, “Now,” She backed away, but lost her balance. He caught her, pulling her back, placing her head on his chest, “do we have to have this talk right now?”

“Why? Think you’re too high to remember this later? Or is being that high the point?”  
“That’s not it!” Mal put a hand to her head. “I’m starting to feel ill. Shaky.”

“Fine.” Adam scoffed. “Swear you’ll say my name.” He felt Mal’s breath shudder to a halt. “That seems like a fair trade.” He knew it wasn’t. What he was proposing was cruel, and deep down he knew it. “You’re the one who wants to pretend, so we might as well both get what we want out of it, right? You want to use me?” Mal’s tails fell. She bit her lip. “Sure. Do it, only if I get to do the same. Pretend tonight that I was the one you chose. Say my name.”

“I just,” Mal gulped down air hastily, holding her head, “I wanted to make someone feel good. Make you feel good. I...” He grabbed both of her wrists at this point and pushed her backwards, pinning her to the ground while he loomed over her, straddling her hips. “Adam!”

“You’re not running away from this problem of ours anymore.”  
“You have some nerve suggesting I could ‘run’ from anything!” Mal spat back.

“Shut up.” Adam barked, and Mal went still, suddenly realizing he was stronger than her in this state, he was pinning her down and she was trapped. Part of her knew Adam was not the type of man who would take advantage of the moment, but the other part of her mind, the one that currently replayed everything she didn’t want to think about over and over again, screamed differently. Everything she’d been through told her to kick, to scream, to leave him red and bloody. Get somewhere safe. Find Tab. Another part of her could only think of the Alliance and begged her to lie still and pray that it would end soon. Just let him take what he wanted. 

Mal felt like she was breathing through a straw.

“De’va, you probably could have had both of us.” Adam continued after he was certain Mal wouldn’t try to interrupt him. “If you got your head out of your ass, the three of us could have figured out something. Heck, maybe Tab and I would become best friends like you and I were?”

Mal blinked up at him, owlishly. “Were?” She breathed.

“But no! You want us to argue. You lead us both on making it seem like you’re emotionally available! Like we could find a fit for everyone in your life! The sad truth is, there is no room for anyone but yourself, is there? You’re emotionally closed off. Just good at faking vulnerability with me and distracting Tab with sex as soon as they start to look at you a little too closely.”

“Adam,” there it was again, that false smile, “of course I’m ‘emotionally available’.” This is what he wanted, right? She just had to be alluring. “What’s more vulnerable than being intimate?” Mal let her tails wrap around his thigh. “Me on a bed,” her voice dropped to something sultry, “letting you do whatever you want to me?”

“Shut up De’va!” He yelled. He watched her shrink, trying to make the floor swallow her. Her face was pale. She was shaking so much that even underneath him, he could tell, but he was too frustrated to care in the moment. “You just want Tab and I to fight like a couple of territorial animals! I wonder if in that twisted little head of yours you think it proves you’re actually worth something?” 

“I d-don’t mean to make you fight,” Mal’s voice was barely a croak, “I just...don’t understand.”

“That someone would want you? Not sex. Not your title. You!” His eyes found hers. “You don’t believe you actually have that kind of worth, do you?” Mal was very still. “After all who could give a damn about such a selfish, vengeful, angry little ‘beast’ like you, right?” Mal now shook her head violently. “I know how you think.” She was fighting him now, trying to thrash. He held her firm. "Even as a child part of you always hated being Theran, and now you’re the Queen of them?” Adam’s laugh was bitter. “What an imposter you must be, and the only way you know how to cope with it is to throw yourself at me and Tab like you’re nothing but a piece of meat!”

“Th-that’s not true!”

“Is anything true when it comes to you?” Adam asked pointedly. “You toy with our feelings whenever you need a little pick me up! Your affections are just a performance, aren’t they? Everything about you is nothing but a lie. You just lie and lie hoping you’ll become what someone wants!” Mal stopped fighting, her eyes wide as she looked up at him. “If you’ve got anything decent to say, now would be the time, De’va.” Mal was hardly breathing. “Well?”

“I-I,” Mal stuttered, “I didn’t--” she shook her head, “Adam I,” a keening sob broke from her throat, “I…” finally she managed four words, “pl-please...don’t hurt me.”

“Oh Eternia.” Adam let her go, jumping to his feet as if burned, his face paling by the second as the line he transgressed became clearer and clearer. The sudden movement had Mal curl up in the fetal position, her breath held. “What have I....” he began backing away.

“Adam…” Mal’s voice was thick, like she was swallowing tears. She grabbed his sleeve, her claws hooking into the fabric. “Please don’t go! I’m sorry!”

“Let go!” Adam was torn between horror, frustration and self-disgust. “You don’t get to mess with people’s feelings just to boost your garbage sense of self worth, De’va!”

“I’m sorry -- I can’t I -- I love you.” She babbled.   
“I know you desperately want to believe that.” Adam threw in her face.  
“You want me to say your name? I’ll scream it. So loud everyone on this damn ship will hear.”

“In lust, or pain?” Adam asked pointedly. She didn’t say anything. “Even if you did scream my name, you’d be imagining Tab.” He watched her go limp. “You’re a fuck up, De’va,” Adam glowered, “and you’re scared you could be loved despite it.” He tried to wrench his sleeve free, but her claws dug into the fabric. “Or maybe you’re scared someone loving the ‘real you’ means you’d have to confront every single ugly thing that you hate about yourself.” He took a sharp breath. “Tab is amazing. They’re more than you deserve.” Adam took a sharp breath. “You have something good in your life. Sort yourself out before you ruin it. You’re pathetic.” 

“I’m...sorry.” Mal echoed.

“and frankly?” He turned to face her. “I’m just as pathetic as you are. The reality is, Tab’s the only person who’s ever made you actually feel safe, aren’t they? I never did that for you.”

Mal unhooked her claws from his sleeve, her hand fell to her lap. “I-I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Out of desperation?” Adam asked. “You wouldn’t mean it. You never did.” Adam inhaled shakily. “You have always been full of artifice.” Then exhaled. “I have been so damn stupid. It’s an Alliance, but without my faction’s support, your people would have struggled to get half as far.”

“But I do mean it,” her voice was quiet but she flashed her fangs, “you never knew what I want.”

“No, but you always knew what I wanted. You were so careful. You led me on and I gobbled it up.” He scoffed at himself softly. “In your defence, I held your people as hostages, even if unintentionally.” Adam’s expression was pinched. “That’s why you always turned me down gently or teasingly. Every proposal. Every proposition. Every blatant display that upset Tab, that you chose to allow -- I took as a sign that you were ‘torn’ about choosing.” Adam smirked. The truth? It was ugly, and his part in it was uglier. “It was really about hoping you would never make me angry enough to join up with my father.” Adam couldn’t believe he was saying this. “You might have left that life, but the concept of being ‘close’ to others is still a shallow transaction. You’re just placating a “client” so he doesn’t take what he wants by force, just like a Lioness.”

“Sorry I’m not good enough.” She whispered. “Would it be better if you were rough with me?”

“No.” Adam took a breath. “I’m not even sure if you’re even really ‘here’ anymore, De’va. Do you even know who you’re talking to right now? Where you are? When?” He headed for the exit. “I can’t be what you need. I’m sorry it took me messing up this badly to finally see it.”

“Wait!” He heard her scrambling to the bed, reaching for it to support her.

“Don’t bother showing up to Starship Eternia.” Adam commanded, watching how she shrank away from the corner of his eyes. “I wish you all the best. I’ll have that doctor reach out soon.”

“But what about the alliance?” Mal struggled to grip her bed and to pull herself onto her unstable legs. Adam closed his eyes as if he were in pain. “Panthera needs Eternia. Adam, I need~”

“I have a great deal of empathy for what your people have gone through.” Adam interrupted, his voice cold and quiet, “I want to make things right because Panthera deserves it. I’m doing this for the sake of Panthera, and for an Eternia I can be proud of. Not for your sake. Not anymore.”

With that, he left her there, ignoring when he heard her hit the ground hard. He paused only when he swore he could hear her quietly sobbing. He didn’t bother turning around to confirm it.

*

The preparations before departure went smoothly, if Adora could say so herself. Her only hesitation was meeting with Adam. He seemed, well, a bit off today, but he smiled. It seemed forced but there was warmth in his eyes.

“Are you sure you’re okay looking after our ship for now?”  
“It’s too big for the Purrsia’s hangar, right? No worries, we’ll take good care of it.”  
“Is De’va cool with that?” Adora asked. Something dark flickered on Adam’s face.

“It doesn’t matter. Purrsia has Tab, Tom, Mog, Catra, Glimmer, that Tallstar girl, Bow, Entrapta, that little friend we’re not going to talk about right now~”

“Wordak, right?”  
“We don’t discuss that.” Adam reiterated, “Percival~”

“Wait, he’s coming with us? I thought he was the Queen’s most trusted aid and would act on her behalf on Starship Eternia?” Adora gaped.

“Magus Angora will be doing so in his stead. De’va and I already organized it.”  
“Oh.” So that was settled then?

“Add you and De’va and that makes a group of twelve. Three times the people means at least three times the amount of supplies. Five or six times would be more prudent. They have no space for all of that and the ship you brought -- not unless they broke it into more pieces.”

“Fair enough. Thank you for taking care of it Adam!”  
“I’ll see what I can do with it for you, no guarantees it’ll ever be functional though.”

“Thank you!” Adora sighed “It’s sort of sentimental now. That was Mara’s ship. Speaking of sentiments.” she winked and elbowed him in the ribs. He didnt take to it.

“What?”  
“When is De’va going to say her goodbye? She didn’t come with me. Trying to have it alone?”

There it was again. Adam’s jaw tensed. “We already had our goodbye.” Then quickly, too quickly for comfort really, he switched gears, “We’ve just met, but I already know I’m going to miss you, little sister!”

“Hey! I still could have been born three minutes earlier! We’re twins!”  
“Yeah, yeah, sure.” Adam rolled his eyes. “I’m still the older twin though. Especially now.”  
“Suuure.” Adora stuck out her tongue. “I’ll miss you, I guess.”

Adam laughed awkwardly. “Nah, it’s fine if it isn’t. I’m just glad you’re alive, glad to have this miraculous chance to get to know you. I need to let Dad know.” He admitted, “maybe I can get through to him, and when you’re done helping out the Purrsia would you...maybe like to come to Eternia to meet him?”

Adora smiled warmly at him. “I’d love to.”  
“Are you a hugger?” 

Adora threw her arms around Adam, and he hugged her back. He chuckled. “Take care of yourself out there.” Then winked, “and your girlfriends.”

“Adam!”

“Go! Go!” He waved her off, and Adora boarded the ship and almost yelped when she nearly walked right into Catra. Instinctively, Adora’s arms reached out to steady her before she could fall. Catra stared at her and she stared back, neither of them speaking for a long moment.

“Hey…”  
“Hey Adora.” Catra stared at her, “so you really are coming with us. Not with your brother?”

“I don’t think I’m ready yet.” Adora admitted with a bashful smile. Catra’s eyebrows raised.  
“You, scared of a little duty?” A tooth slipped past her grin.

“This is...different. It’s not like being She-ra where I use to just rush in and save people. If I say the wrong thing or act without thinking -- other people might take actions on my behalf that could get someone seriously hurt.” Adora sighed. “It got Tab hurt.” She frowned. “I’m a little shaken.”

Catra’s smirk disappeared, and she reached for Adora’s hand. Adora looked at her and smiled.

“It’s okay to be scared of something like that. Being a Princess? I don’t think that’s really something for you or me. It’s not the sort of thing we’re cut out for, I don’t think.” Catra sighed. “I still don’t know how I’m going to tell that to Mal.”

“Luckily for you, she didn’t announce it to the other Therans.” Adora grinned.  
“She said she didn’t think I was ready.” Catra tugged at one of her ear tufts. “It was kind of her.”  
“Did you think she did this to make her claim a little stronger?”  
“I don’t know what Mal’s thinking or planning anymore.” Catra admitted.

They both let go of each other and Catra turned to head further in the ship. Adora was matching her pace, step for step. Catra’s hand kept bumping into Adora’s and eventually Adora grabbed her hand again. Catra smiled and didn’t pull away.

“So you’re not angry at me tagging along?”  
“If we land in trouble, are you going to take over everything to try saving everyone again?”  
“Tab promised to punch me out if I did.”  
Catra’s eyes lit up with mirth. She chuckled. “Then you’ll be fine.”

Adora, tentatively let her fingers weave through Catra’s. “Are you sure? This is kind of your space, isn’t it?” That had Catra taken aback. “I’m kind of invading it, aren’t I?”

“Well, you’re not going to make anything up with Mal and Tab if you're on Adam’s ship.” Catra relented. Adora looked at her, first dumbfounded, but then she grinned.

“Thank you. What about us? Are we going to be okay?”  
Catra hesitated. Then she spoke softly. “I know you attacked Mal. Knew.”

Adora gasped, felt her brain go through a dozen thoughts and then settle on nothing. “How?”

“I saw how gentle Adam was being with Mal, and realized she evaded telling me who in order to protect them. First I thought it had to be Adam who did it, but then Adam took personal responsibility for it. If he flat out was, he would have just said so since he was willing to take the blame on anyways.” Catra leveled her gaze with Adora. “Bow is not the type to do something that impulsive. Neither is Entrapta. Glimmer could have -- but neither Mal nor Adam have personal reasons strong enough to cover for her. But you on the other hand…” Catra let it drift off for a moment, “then I realized Mal probably figured out how important you are to me, so she was trying to shelter me, and Adam’s your brother, so he was trying to cover you too.”

Adora stared at the ground. “We got into an argument. She was right about some things.”  
“It’s a talent of hers. An annoying one.”  
“I lost my cool.”

“I figured it was something like that. You playing knight and Mal getting tired of your crap.” Catra chuckled at the thought. “Anything stick in particular?”

“Nothing I’m...really ready to talk about just yet.” Adora looked at Catra sadly, “sorry. We will talk, I promise I just...need to sort some things out in my head, and maybe with Mal too.”

Catra held her breath for a moment and then exhaled. “Okay.”  
“Okay?”  
“Yeah. It’s okay.”  
“Really?”

“Just answer something very important for me,” Catra caught Adora’s eyes, “if I decide to go back to Etheria with you later, what will that look like?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said it would be like old times. But I don’t want it to be like when Shadow Weaver was messing with us,” Catra took a sharp breath, “I don’t want to be your burden, Adora.”

“Catra, you are not a burden!” Adora leapt to defend.  
“That’s not how it felt like.” Catra informed, “not with you always rushing to play hero.”  
“I didn’t mean it like that! I just wanted to help! Look out for you!”

“And you always made me feel like I was second best! Incapable compared to the glorious Adora! Golden girl! All praise her name!” Catra grit her teeth.

“That’s hardly fair!”  
“I don’t care if that wasn’t your intention. I know what it felt like.”  
Adora stepped back and paused. “What did it feel like?” she asked quietly.

“Like you don’t think I can take care of myself! Or even better -- that I could have other people in my life who will also look after me too. Have a life that doesn’t have me in your shadow! Have a life where people think I matter just as much as you do!”

“I don’t want you in my ‘shadow’, I want you with me! I want to protect you because you matter to me!”

“It doesn’t always have to be you, you know?” Catra pointed out, “and sometimes you need to be protected too. It can’t always be you doing it all.”

“Okay.” Adora nodded. “Okay.” She echoed. “So then what?”

“So...if we went back to Etheria...just trust me to let you know if I need your help.”  
“I...think I can do that.”  
“And I want you to let me know if you need my help.”  
“I’m not sure about~”  
“Adora.” Catra interrupted sternly. The blond sighed.  
“Fine, but it’s going to be weird.”  
“Asking for help? Always is the first few times.” They smiled at each other.

“Anything else?”  
“I’d like to still see Tab and the others whenever we have the time. They’re good people.”

“I’m not sure I completely believe that, not just yet.” Adora found her cheeks warming, “but I’m trying to. You’re a good person Catra,” that caught Catra by surprise and she gaped at Adora “and if you see something good in them, then I believe you that it’s there and it’ll just be a matter of time until I see it too.”

*

“You look like hell.” Tallstar smirked as she saw the form bent over the desk. Both of Mal's hands were massaging the stub that was her left leg, her expression contorted with pain. There was a lot of movement upstairs, and music and voices. A sending off party. Yet here she was in this dingy room with the Theran Queen who looked up with swollen, bloodshot eyes.

“If you have time enough to shit talk to me, you have time to get me what I asked for.”

“Touchy. Jeeze.” Tallstar hummed, “you know, I don’t think nearly fucking the Prince of Eternia is going to help your less than stellar reputation on our little vessel right now, Queen De’va.”

“This boat isn’t yours.” Mal’s tone lacked, well, tone. She hissed screwing her eyes shut, “I will throw you out the airlock in a second if you push your luck too far.” There was nothing in her voice. No rage. No worry or panic. It was almost monotone. Creepy.

“What would the Captain say? Didn’t you say you had to earn something back from them? Yet your first reaction is to cheat? Tsk, tsk. Queen De’va, aren’t you a naughty little Lioness.” Tallstar loved knowledge. The right knowledge could make or break someone, and a little blackmail… maybe that would get a reaction?

“For a capable spy, you’re so fucking transparent.” Mal’s tone was dull, almost monotone, leaning far back in her chair, she caught Tallstar’s gaze, “Congrats. You know I was in the Dens. So does nearly every other fucking person. Old news.”

“Wait, that’s not~”

“Tell Tab about me and Adam. I don’t care.” Tallstar gulped when those eyes met hers. They were dead. Empty. She miscalculated. Badly miscalculated. You can’t take anything away from someone who had already decided to give up on themselves. “There’s nothing there for you to ruin that I haven’t already lit on fire.” Mal smirked, deviously, dangerously. “Blackmail won’t work. If anything, it’ll convince me to torture you long and slow before I throw you out the airlock to see if that might give me feel some sort of passing enjoyment.”

“I-I see…” Tallstar forced a smile. “Kittrina was keeping an eye on you. Apparently her uncle~”  
“My uncle. Her great uncle.” Mal interrupted.  
“Is concerned about how your family’s going to continue after the shambles it was left in.”

“You mean the shambles he put it in.” Mal sighed and sat up properly, reaching for what seemed to be a bottle and she popped two pills from it, dry, rubbing her left thigh. “Do you know what he wants from Kittrina?”

“He wants her mother to have his kids.” Tallstar sighed. “But it’s not going too well.”  
“Never will.” Mal sounded blaise. “I send Sunda medicine periodically. They’re contraceptives.”

Tallstar’s eyes widened. “Wait, you know the kind of hell her Mom’s been put through and you’re doing that? Knowing if she had his kids all of this will stop? Isn’t she your big sister?”

“Sunda knows what I sent her.” Mal seemed disinterested. “My big sister might have breaks from reality, but rest assured, she has agency and is more aware than people give credit for.” 

“How do you know?” Tallstar shook her head in disbelief. “You’re really messed up, know that?”

“I wouldn’t think twice about the crown if she wanted it. I sure as hell don’t.” Mal’s ears flicked in the direction of Tallstar. “But she told me she couldn’t and to forgive her but it had to be me.”

“That sounds like a surprisingly self aware thing to do.” Tallstar wasn’t sure how to make sense of this. Perhaps the image Kittrina painted -- of a blood thirsty, power hungry woman was as fictitious as the veneer of charm her uncle wore? “Not sure I buy it.”

“Believe what you want.” Mal propped her head on her cheek, “Well this is a crap on my mood.”

“So your sister really is taking those things on purpose?” Tallstar murmured, “I mean, if she’s used it multiple times she knows, right? You’re not there to make her continue.”

“Look at you, using your brain!” Tallstar grit her teeth at the blatant mocking. Mal rolled her eyes and yawned. “The real question to ask is not if she’s using them. You need to ask why. It's clear by the end result that she is, so wondering “if” is rather pointless here.”

“You have any insight on that, ‘genius’, cause I don’t see the point in putting yourself in a position where you have to suffer more.”

“My theory?” Mal scratched her ear, “He plans to kill her once he gets those kids and she’s scared of leaving Kittrina defenceless if he decides he needs a round two.” Her eyes fluttered closed, “he was never very subtle about his intentions. Being Patriarch of the next dynasty fits.”

Tallstar shuddered. “Sounds like a creeper.”

“If he has Kittrina keeping tabs on me, a threat is probably involved.” Mal’s elbows hit the desk with a thud as she hunched over. “Probably was: ‘You or your Aunt, if you don’t want it to be you, get your Aunt back here.’ He’s banking on her feeling so abandoned by me that she’ll happily throw me to him like a bone to chew on.” Mal bit her thumb. “Great.”

“Wait! Wait! How did you put all that together?”

“I know all the individual players a lot better than you ever will.” Mal tapped her fingers on the small desk. “Thank you for the insight. You should join the departure party upstairs.”

“You’re not coming?”  
“Not hungry.”   
“What should I tell them?”

“I had work to do.” Mal frowned. “The rest isn’t your business. Listen, I’ve already sent the navigational path to the bridge. This time next week? Your sister is going to be with you, should it be the grace of the Goddess Lynx.” Tallstar hesitated, frowning when she saw Mal reach for the bottle again and take another pill.

“How many of those have you taken?” Tallstar asked. She watched Mal stiffen.  
“I need to get rest, so can you leave now?” Came a terse reply.  
“Geeze. Defensive much?”  
“Get out.”

Tallstar shook her head and climbed out of the hatch where the music filled her ears along with chatter. She walked the pathway to the kitchen to see a spread of food and Tab standing at the head of the table, calling over to Tom to lower the music.

“Where’s her Majesty?” Tab asked.  
Tallstar looked away nervously. “She had, uh, work.”  
“Whatever.” Tab grumbled.

“I’ll put some food aside for her later.” Tom reassured, then looked over to the silent Percival, watching everyone studiously from the corner. “Do you think you can take it down to her?”

“I can take care of that, yes.” Percival confirmed.

“Alright, listen up you maggots!” Tab called out reaching for a glass, and hitting it with a spoon to gather everyone’s attention. “We’ll be taking some odd jobs keep our supplies up, but we’re doin’ pretty good right now. Thanks to our lovely benefactor, Adam, everyone’s got a normal suit, our fighters are all good to go and we got extra fuel and food. Our first order of business -- rooms! Mine’s the biggest and completely off limits as you know!”

There was a collection of laughter.

“Tom you’re bunkin’ with Percy.” Tom looked at Tab dumbfounded and Tab grinned, “oh, I already have you figured out, big guy. Mog, you get to bunk with Bow.”

Mog blinked. “Wait! Really?”  
Bow grinned. “We could draw up new tech ideas before we sleep every night!”  
“You’re on!”

“That leaves Catra with Adora.” Tab continued. Catra’s tail stood right up.  
“You’re kidding.” Catra murmured.

“How about you two kids just kiss and make up already, kay?” Tab winked.

Catra glared at Tab. “How about you follow your own darn advice?”

There was a silence. An uncomfortable one as everyone looked to Tab. Made even worse when Tab began to laugh uncontrollably. After their laughter had lasted for too long to be comfortable they finally stopped and spoke again. Their voice was terrifying to hear.

“There’s a difference between fixin’ somethin’ and resuscitatin’ it. That’s all I’m gonna say, Kid.”

“Tab?” Adora asked.

“Don’t you get on my case too, Maverick, cause I really don’t want to hear it.” Tab warned, hackles raising. “Next room!” Tab declared, “Glimmer with Tallstar.” There was quiet with that one. “Oh great, no one has anythin’ special to say about that. Guess we can move on. Entrapta and Clone boy -- you get one of the guest rooms. The other will be for Tallstar’s siblings when they get here.”

“So,” Glimmer started softly, “Mal’s going to be staying in a room by herself?”

“Yes. Grimalkin needs the space so we’re gonna give it to her. Not like she’s goin’ to be spendin’ much time planet side for the next while, so anything that might stave off cabin fever is a good thing.” Tab informed. “Speakin’ of her -- anybody got problems with room assignments? That’s her duty, and she made this plan. Talk her ear off about it and leave me the hell alone.”

“But…” the rest of Glimmer’s words died when several pairs of eyes gave her the impression that she needed to drop the topic before she made Tab angry.

“Anyways! Eat! Be merry!” Tab continued, “Enjoy this night because tomorrow we’re gettin’ up bright and early and there will be work to do!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...if your reaction to Mal and Adam was a slightly cliche TV-Tropes style 'What the hell, Hero!?", then our work is done! :)
> 
> This gives us a bit of a better glimpse into what's really going on with Adam and Mal and unfortunately, it's probably the most full glimpse of their dynamic before this blow up that we're ever going to get (not the focus of this story nor is there time for it).
> 
> I tried so hard to balance the Adam/Mal conflict here. Make it clear they are both very much in the wrong. It was REALLY hard when the instigation of this blow up started with Mal doing something as fucked up as essentially trying to force herself on him -- especially given her history. Then it got worse when Adam finally snapped and reacted in a violent manner that could be misread (and by a triggered Mal IS INDEED misread) as threatening sexual violence. I want to show the grey without making one character or the other someone you absolutely hate. I hope it comes across clearly that the end of this conflict has both of them coming out worse for wear: Mal is in an even worse state mentally and Adam is having a "my god what have I done" moment.
> 
> Adam is valid in his anger. His emotions have intentionally been toyed with and yes, Mal has been playing him and Tab against each other for years. Where as Tab isn't happy about it either but lets this fuel their insecurities with a pasted smile on their face, Adam in his confidence sees what she does as a personal affrontation. It's unfair for him to have been constantly given the impression that he had a shot when it seems it was never there. Then to have what he thought he wanted from her pushed on him in a way he could never agree with? It was too much. On the same hand, Adam is COMPLETELY oblivious to his own privilege here and it makes him entitled. Mal is wrong for being manipulative, for trying to turn Adam's attempts to comfort her into something sexual,. Absolutely. Is she wrong for her to survive doing what she's most familiar with? If survival for herself, for billions of lives hinges on having Adam's favour, does it not make sense for her to straddle this line between being seductive and unavailable to him? So for him to essentially demand that he was willing to go along with it if he got what he wanted it is skeevy.
> 
> They were using each other, and Adam is now reeling from that.
> 
> Adam's last comments come from finally realizing he and Mal never had a relationship as equals. He realizes this but what it took for it to finally click makes him now question what kind of a man he is (and if he as different from his father as he thinks). He's deeply sorry, but it's too little too late and he's left Mal mentally in far worse of a state than she began in and he knows, given everything else that happened recently -- she doesn't really have anyone to lean on right now. Not that the crew wouldn't eventually come to her aid but she's alienated them all enough lately that her tenancy to isolate herself is going to leave her, well...isolated for a bit.
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “I still can’t get over that.” Adora murmured.  
> “Your brother’s crew seems different than the rest...for the most part.” Catra assured.
> 
> “Maybe, but we should ask Tab. They might know more.” Adora added, clearly uncomfortable with it all. “We should give De’va -- Mal -- De’va?” She looked to Catra.
> 
> “She prefers Mal.” Catra admitted.  
> “She also REALLY doesn’t like me.” Adora laughed.


	26. “It feels like all I do is eat away at people’s lives.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starla meets Kittrina who claims to know her sister only to find trusting Kittrina may have been a grave mistake.  
> The Governor of Anwat-Gar figures out who the group is and leverages to make a deal with the Queen of Panthera.  
> The BFS, Catra and the Crew find that locating Tallstar's younger sister may be far more difficult than anticipated.  
> Mal and Tab are constantly at each other's throats and Adora can't help but feel personally responsible.  
> Tallstar makes an ultimatum leaving the group stuck on Anwat-Gar despite looming dangers.
> 
> CW: Mentions of prescription/drug abuse, discussions of such and discussions of trafficking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A soft reset to the planet of Anwat-Gar. We already saw a whole "landing on a planet" and everything before so it made sense to drop us back in after they found the planet Starla was on, a few weeks into their fruitless search. Everyone is, of course understandably agitated. :)

Hey Adora,

It’s great to have you back. Despite everything, I really did miss you.  
Just...try to be less of an idiot, would you?

Tab and Mal, they’re pretty forgiving. If you give them a chance they will too. They just have their own stuff to deal with right now.

As for me, well…  
I don’t think I could ever stay mad at you. For better or worse.

Sincerely,  
Catra

*

Catra was holding her breath. Across from her on the other side of the allyway, Adora was crouched down, back to the wall, they peaked around their respective corners, spotting, searching, wondering.

[Command Ops here, target should be coming up your way, Alpha. ETA two minutes.] Mal’s voice seemed wooden, almost robotic. Adora and Catra were tense, and then there was laughter on the radio.

[Glad you’re Command Ops, your Majesty. Geeze, if it were me I’d scream from boredom!]  
[I can hardly walk. I'd be a liability on the ground.] Catra winced at how frank the response was.

[Focus Mog!] Tab reminded sternly. [I know this job seems trivial but stay alert. All our poking around Anwat-Gar has probably drawn us some attention, some of it unwanted.]

Catra sighed with resignation. “Still no news on the reason why we came to this planet in the first place though, is there?” She whispered. Adora shook her head.

[You should see them in five, four, three, two~] Catra and Adora nodded to each other and they both ran from their cover. Catra landed in front of the man, Adora behind. He looked taken aback when Catra appeared. His blue skin turned purple, as if he flushed with fright. He backed up slowly before he walked right into Adora. 

He turned around and screamed, and just as he did, Adora tackled him to the ground. Catra reached to her belt and slapped a pair of handcuffs around his hands, and smirked.

“You’re Kiva, right?” The man’s face paled.

“Look, I can explain!” He yammered, panicked. “It was just one vault! If you want, we can split the gold! That’s why you took the bounty, isn’t it? Money? Taking half of what I stole is worth so much more than that measly reward they’ll give you for my capture! Fair?” 

Adora glowered. “Sorry. But no deal.” The man proceeded to stare in dumb fear, whimpering.  
Catra shook her head. “Guess we got our guy for sure.”

“Guess so.” Adora shifted her weight looking at the pure horror on the man’s face, “I’m not sure how I feel about all this though. The people here are completely terrified of whoever is in charge around here. Everyone. That doesn’t feel right.”

Catra threw her arms up in the air, fingers linked as she cracked them. “Well, Tab refuses to do any drug smuggling, which we’re all on the same page about. You weren’t comfortable doing work with the loan sharks, so that leaves bounty hunting or smuggling with the Mobs.”

“But the Mobs have a stranglehold on the Black Market around here and they only trust their own,” Adora grumbled, “and those with cred. Which means dealing with the loan sharks first.”

“Yup. So we’re stuck with Bounty Hunting.” Her arms fell to the side, “even if that doesn’t quite sit right either. Man. A few weeks of being here and even I can tell something is seriously messed up around here. I wonder if this is run by the Eternians too?”

Adora visibly flinched at that mention. Catra flashed her a look.

“I still can’t get over that.” Adora murmured.  
“Your brother’s crew seems different…” Catra winced, “for the most part.” Catra assured.

“Maybe, but we should ask Tab. They might know more.” Adora added, clearly uncomfortable with it all. “We should give De’va -- Mal -- De’va?” She looked to Catra.

“She prefers Mal.” Catra admitted.

“She also REALLY doesn’t like me.” Adora laughed. “A couple of weeks ago when she had that hissyfit and ghosted us on a job after Tab talked to her? She literally apologized to everyone but me for acting out.”

“I mean,” Catra couldn't help but chuckle, “she doesn’t have a reason to like you right now, and the only time we seem to know she exists lately is when she’s running Command Ops for our jobs, but if you spent time with her ~” Adora looked like a puppy that had been kicked and Catra sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it.” She tapped her ear piece. “Mal? We got the Target.” There was static for a long moment. “Mal?”

[This is Sunshine.] Tab called over, [Command Ops is not responding again, I take it?] Tab sighed out of annoyance or anger, Catra wasn’t quite sure, [I’ll get us in contact with the client. Meet me at these coordinates.] There was a beep on their consoles. [The rest of you: Beta, stay on standby in case Alpha meets some unwanted friends. Gamma, you’re quick to move in and out, so feel free to head to the market where Echo is. I’m sure Entrapta and Wordak will be happy to see you. We’ll rendezvous there once we’re done talking to the client.]

Catra looked to Adora and shrugged. They heaved Kiva to his feet and kept shoving him along as they headed for a building. That’s when they got a warning.

[Take the alleyway to your left.] Mal sounded shaky, weak, [If you stay on the main roads you’ll hit a lot of crowds. He could have friends among them. That could be trouble. Stay sharp.]

Catra and Adora nodded, turning down the aforementioned pathway, though they both winced when Tab growled out on the radio.

[That’s the fifth time this month you disappeared mid job! Where the HELL were you Mal?]  
[Working. I got a hold of our client, Captain. The real one. He wants to meet at the Embassy.]  
[Fine!] Tab relented. [But you and I aren’t done talkin’, you hear me?] Tab all but hissed.  
[You’re welcome, Captain.] Came Mal’s flippant, sarcastic reply, [You’re always SO grateful.]  
[I am done with your shit, De’va.] Tab growled, the change of address a slap to the face.  
[Feel free to doc my pay again and add it to the crew fund.] A snort. [I don’t fucking care.]   
[For the love of Lynx, that’s the entire goddamn PROBLEM!] Tab all but bellowed. Catra winced.

[Both of you!] It was Tom who had, not for the first time, played mediator, and like many of them he sounded exasperated and annoyed, [Save your stupid spats for somewhere that isn’t A: On everyone’s bloody comms and B: while we’re still finishing up a job!]

[Do we still need me on Command Ops at this point of the mission or am I free to go?] Mal asked tersely.

[No. Go ahead and leave. I’ll post someone more reliable while you conduct your VERY important business.] Tab grumbled.

[Excuse me?] Mal sounded offended. [I’m perfectly capable of staying on if needed. If not I’d rather be spending my time on important matters that require my utmost attention.] 

[Do those important matters involve a little pill bottle?]  
[No, actually, they involve orders that some frontline battalions need as soon as possible.]  
[Do you even care about the Purrsia anymore?]

[I’m sorry,] Mal hissed, the sound visceral and even Catra could feel her hackles raising [Should I leave thousands of soldiers in the lurch while we sit here playing cops and robbers?]

[Both of you. Drop it before Mog and I drop you both later!] Tom interjected.

[Pfft. Whatever. Look, your Majesty, we don’t need you. As per usual, we managed just fine without, so go away.] Tab barked. [Enjoy your trip! Happy High!] Came a sarcastic jab.

[Kiss my ass, Manx!] Mal cussed. [I’m signing off. See you all back at base later.]

“Their sniping is really starting to get on my nerves.” Catra stuck out her tongue. “Bleh.”  
“They’re not even hiding that they’re taking low blows at each other.” Adora pointed out.  
“Yeah...it’s pretty bad. Before they wouldn’t even say a single bad thing about the other. Now…”  
“I can’t help but feel they wouldn’t be this bad if I hadn’t~”

“Nope. Don’t you go there, Adora. You fucked up. That made things messy for them, but I don’t see either of them doing anything to fix it. In fact they’re both doubling down like a bunch of petty children.” Catra grumbled. “That’s totally on them.”

Adora sighed. “Who do you think the real client is?”  
Catra shrugged. “Beats me.”

Kiva whimpered and cried the entire time they weaved through the alleyways. They met up with Tab, who mostly grunted and took the prisoner off their hands, giving them lead. Catra took a good look at them today: they looked less tired, thank goodness. Their hair had already grown long enough to brush below their jaw and to frame their face, evenly. The haircut to save the disaster of a hack job they did about a month ago was growing out nicely, but something still seemed a bit off today. Catra caught it when Tab turned -- they were presenting more masculine than usual. 

Adora more than once got creeped out when she noticed Tom was following them. This time she inhaled quickly, and Catra caught her glance backwards.

“He’s very quiet, you get used to it.” Catra chuckled.

“I was bought from the Dens as a young adult by an assassin ring.” Tom added, calling up from behind them, “Apparently the master was the leader of the order who once served the Queen of Panthera, and they had close ties with the Mages as well. Master thought it would be funny if the biggest, most conspicuous Theran could kill people by sneaking up on them. He had a twisted sense of humour.”

Adora chuckled nervously, then elbowed Catra in the side. “Remind me not to do something that might have him kill me in my sleep...if I haven’t already.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure you’d have to worry more about Percival than me.” Tom’s grin was wide, showing his gleaming teeth. “He answers directly to the Queen after all, though if she hasn’t ordered a hit on you yet, I’m doubtful it’s coming at this point.”

Adora shot him a dirty look. “You know how she left us completely in the lurch that one mission after Tab yelled at her?” Tab growled lowly at the reminder. Tom laughed. “Well, apparently she personally apologized to everyone but me for that one.”

“Yeah, that’s called giving you a hard time, not gearing up to murder you.” Tom tittered with laughter while Tab seemed to grow more agitated. “If she was doing that, you’d already be dead. Take her giving you grief as a begrudging sign that she knows Tab calls the shots on the ship and she doesn’t.”

Adora looked to Tab. “She doesn’t have any say on what happens on the ship?”  
“My boat, my rules. She don’t like it? She can leave. Told you that already.” Tab grunted.

Tom chuckled. “Anyways, if she’s giving you grief in a super passive aggressive way, it’s just her way of letting you know she doesn’t like you but she ain’t gonna do shit.”

“Great.” Adora shrank, grabbing Catra’s arm. “Well, what if she changes her mind?”   
Catra snickered. “Are you scared?”

“Maybe a little? Tab did kind of shoot Glimmer, so,” Adora glanced behind to find Tab glaring, “all I’m saying is, you’re all not above doing whatever you think is best to solve something.”

Tab frowned. “If Mal causes you trouble on my boat? Mark my words: she’ll have more than you fightin’ back to deal with, believe me.”

“Speaking of…” Catra added, “I’m surprised you haven’t told Mal to just get off the ship already with how much she’s dropped the ball.” That was almost certainly the wrong thing to say. Tab was all coiled tension. Their shoulders squared. Their tail went stiff, their steps grew heavy.

“Do you think she’s a danger to the rest of the crew, Catra?” Tab asked very quietly.

Adora blinked in surprise. Catra’s mouth fell agape before she sputtered a response. “Well, I mean, her behaviour lately has caused us grief but you’re the Captain. Isn’t that your call, Tab?”

“The kid does have a point.” Tom scratched his ear. “Where the hell was Malkin that day anyways? You know, don’t you, Tab?”

“I may or may not.” Tab spat.  
“Can you not play coy? This is causing everyone grief. Was she ill or something?”  
Tab flinched. “I’m not my wife’s keeper. Go ask her yourself.”  
“You’re the Captain though. You make it a point to know everything that happens on board.”  
“Well I guess in this case her reasons for that incident slipped my awareness.”

Tom, Catra and Adora all came to the same unsettling, and uncomfortable realization: Tab did in fact know. They just didn’t want to discuss it, which really unfortunately left only a handful of possibilities as to just what, exactly, had happened that caused Mal to ghost being the voice in their ears for that job. None of the few picks were particularly comfortable thoughts.

“The fact of the matter is you can’t deny the impact it had.” Tom sighed. “Things got quite sticky because of her, or rather because she wasn’t at her post.”

“Listen, Maverick: long as you don’t hurt Catra, I’m sure Mog, Tom, myself and Her Majesty will have no issues with you.” Tab grunted quickly changing the topic. Adora felt the snap focusing on her like whiplash, “Be shit to us for all we care. We’re kinda used to it from Eternians.”

Adora felt like crap at that mention. “Well…” she winced, “you shouldn’t have to be.”  
“Enough Chit-chat. Walk quickly, we have things to do.” Tab dismissed.

*

Her shoulders were hunched together as she edged around in the alleyways. Her cloak was drawn over her head. Anwat-Gar was now an Eternian colony, yes, but it wasn’t a very affluent one. Someone like her, neither Eternian or Gar stood out like a sore thumb. Eternians only came by for business and then left. The only people here were Gar, who had blue skin and Therans -- it was one of the few places under Eternian rule where those Bestial like people would have the chance to be treated a little bit better. In fact, the rumours was that the Governor of Anwat-Gar had his tastes, and had a Theran mistress and tended to treat other Lionesses quite well, or so she heard.

In fact, he let them build several places of Worship to their Goddess Lynx, and they all got their Holy Days off to pray. Those buildings -- in the time she had heard of them and then finally saw them -- were by far some of the nicest buildings in Anwat-Gar, and currently she had just found her way to one. Checking around her, she slipped inside and picked a seat in the back. Her hands shook with hunger, her lips cracked dry from thirst, but she felt an odd sort of comfort. She was safe.

“You have the Divine right of Sanctuary here.” Called a voice. She sat up straight, eyes widened as she looked around. “That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”

“Wh-Who’s there?” Her hand slipped under her robe, finding a knife.  
“Fighting in the Sanctuary is grounds for getting kicked out you know.”

“You’re a Theran, aren’t you?” Her golden eyes flitted around in the darkness knowing she couldn’t see, but the other person most likely could. “Show yourself!” She saw a shadow in the distance, her hand twitched but she didn’t throw the blade. The Theran was right. She couldn’t risk it. She gritted her teeth. “Are you Governor Sy-Klone’s Lioness?”

“Me? To a Gar?” There was a laugh at that. “No, that’s Mau’s job. I’m not meant for such work, really, or to fall in love with someone so...base.” She stepped out of the shadows, and looked at the Hume in question. “Hello Starla.”

“You know me somehow…” She took in the Theran before her. Mismatched eyes of blue and gold. Spiky black hair. Dark stripes, and a fanged smile.

“I don’t.” Kittrina smirked, “I know your sister. Tallstar. I know she’s looking for you.”  
“Do you know where she is? Can you take me to her?”

Kittrina hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Sure thing.”

*

The Embassy was, frankly put, the former castle of the Kingdom of Anwat-Gar. Or rather, the former Kingdom. They had passed through security with no issue and that was when Catra noticed it: this place had Therans in it, and more than a few.

Catra could practically smell the moment Tab started to get agitated. They pulled the leather jacket they wore -- a recent purchase similar to Mal’s old one -- tightly around them and zipped it up, even though it was warm in the Embassy. They were in a quiet room when they delivered the mark. Kiva snivelled before the foot of another Gar -- Sy-Klone. He merely dismissed the man to the cells while a Theran woman who was covered in freckles stood beside him.

“If you’d like, I can invite you to his judgement.” Sy-Klone offered.  
“What kind of punishment will he get?” Tab asked curiously.   
“The usual. Hanging.” Sy-Klone shrugged dismissively. “Eternian law, not ours.”  
“Bullshit.” Tab hissed under their breath.

“Sit down,” Catra took a good look at him. He was tall, stalwart, dressed in bright blue and yellow, his garment adorned with red stitching, “have a meal. Stay awhile.” The moment he did, several other Therans came in carrying trays of food, and Tab’s eyes darted around each of them. Catra did as well and paused when she noticed something concerning -- they all had brands by their collar bones.

“They’re all…” Catra murmured, “from the Dens.”  
“The Dens?” Adora asked.  
“Theran trafficking.”  
“Oh no…”

“I know how this seems from the outside,” Sy-Klone informed, “but these Therans have been liberated from the Dens. They are now my staff and they are treated quite kindly, I assure you.”

Tab shifted their weight from foot to foot. Tom tensed, his shoulders hiking. The older Therans both seemed thoroughly uncomfortable. Catra could literally smell their discomfort. Catra found herself coming to the same conclusion: something in Sy-Klone’s story didn’t add up.

“We do appreciate the offer, Governor Sy-Klone,” Tab forced a smile, “but we’re expected by our colleagues of the Cymric Cooperative in the marketplace. I’m sure they’ll want those credits we just earned to go shopping with.”

Sy-Klone hummed, shrugging his shoulders. “I insist, Tabby Manx. It’s not often I get to speak to Therans around here that I’m not also planning to charm into my bed.” He sent a glance to the Theran beside him and she stifled a laugh. “Though you are rather beautiful in your own way, I must admit, you aren’t really my type. I’m not really into Theran Tomcats.”

Tab snarled, ears standing up tall, tail flicking. “I ain’t no goddamn Tomcat!”

“Sorry!” Sy-Klone grimaced, smacking his forehead, “I forgot ‘Tomcat’ referred to specifically the Sex Workers. I didn’t mean to imply you were. Toms. I’m not a big fan of Theran toms, even if you’re a rather -- I don’t know how to say this in a way that might not be misread, so forgive me I mean it only as a compliment -- beautiful and feminine tom. You’re gorgeous. It’s unexpected.”

Tab’s hands curled into fists. “I’m not a tom.” They muttered weakly.

“Huh.” Sy-Klone tilted his head, perplexed, “Anyways, you have my curiosity. Three weeks around Anwat-Gar and you’ve done tremendous work helping me clean up crime around here. My only question is, might there be something you’re looking for from all this?” Tab went silent. Tom exhaled forcefully. Adora and Catra looked to each other, and then to Tom and Tab.

“Actually...we’re looking for someone.” Catra brought up. Adora and Tab both looked at her with a sense of blind panic. Sy-Klone smiled and nodded attentively.

“I might be able to help you. Tell me about this someone.” He beckoned. Adora and Catra looked at each other. Then Adora continued.

“She’s not Gar. She is Hume though,” Adora began, “not Eternian either.”  
“I may know of someone like that running around these parts.” He assured her.

“Wait!” Tab put their arm out in front of Catra and Adora both. “What’s your price?”

The Governor sighed, tilting his head. “Knowledge is power. I request, then a night of power and pleasure over someone else.” He hummed. “The one with you is a little too young for my tastes, though. I prefer someone mature.” Tab’s face paled. Adora stepped in front of Catra and glared.

“Too young for what?” Adora asked, her voice shaking. “What do you want from her?”

“No need to play coy around here, is there? You want my secrets, I want some thrills.” He smiled, then his eyes turned to Tab. “You aren’t really my type, though I am incredibly curious about you now. Curious enough to give you a try. Maybe if you came as a packaged deal?”

“Get bent!” Tab bit back.  
“You say you’re not really a tom but you're not a queen either, are you? Just what are you?”  
“What the hell does that have to do with jack shit?” Tab hissed.

“What about your wife then? Wasn’t she a Lioness once?” He asked. Tab’s lips pulled back into a snarl. “Transactions like these must be familiar territory for her. Though, if it makes you feel better, Lady Mau,” he looked to the Theran beside him, “and I would do our best to make sure she did get to enjoy her night.”

“You SON OF A~” everything froze. Every single Theran from the Den pulled out a gun and aimed it at them. Tom had moved quickly and was dragging Tab back by the arms, his expression grim as the Captain practically tried to throw themselves at the man on the Throne. Everything was tense for a moment and Catra felt her heart beating in her throat.

“You know who we are.” Catra stated. All the fight left Tab as that reality hit them too.  
“Shit.” The captain muttered, realizing the greater implication.

“Goading you into confirming it was easy.” Sy-Klone sighed, arranging himself on the repurposed throne. “Lady Mau here had her suspicions,” he gestured to the Theran beside him, “and I had heard a few rumours. You walked right into them, and the moment I saw how uncomfortable the older two Therans there seemed around their fellows who were in the Den, well, I was pretty confident I knew who I was dealing with....”

“What are you looking for from us?” Tom’s voice was loud, authoritative, unlike how anyone was used to hearing him. Tab had stopped struggling, merely limp in Tom’s grasp, head bent, eyes to the floor. Adora had her hand on her bracer. Catra looked about the room.

“Fightin’ is only gonna get us killed.” Tab whispered. Both Catra and Adora backed down.

“I do want to talk to your Queen, that part wasn’t conjecture.” Sy-Klone admitted, crossing his legs. “Whether we do more than talk, I leave up to her. She knows how these things are: making a deal in war is often like sharing a bed.”

“Don’t talk about her like she’s some sort of ~”

“Object? Tool?” It was Lady Mau who spoke, her gold eyes sharp. “The rumour that she got caught up in the trafficking is a boon to her reputation to us. Traditionalists would argue it makes her less desirable, worthless, but for Lionesses like me, it convinces us that she is the people’s Queen. Someone who finally understands our troubles. That is, if she is who she says she is.” 

“You doubt her claim.” Tab glared.  
“It’s called being cautious. Anyone can say anything on a screen.” Lady Mau countered.  
“She isn’t like you.” Came a hiss.

“Isn’t she though?” Lady Mau’s hand teasingly brushed against Sy-Klone’s shoulder, and she sat on the arm of the throne. “Aren’t women of the Royal family expected to have as many kittens as possible to continue the Dynasty? How is that so different from what someone like me does?” She tilted her head, bemused. “The intended end result is different, but the actions are the same, aren’t they? We’re used as tools because we are queens. Our people accepted a usurper simply because he was a tom, even though our last ruler was a queen who’s daughters have more claim to the throne than he does.” She shook her head. “What has me excited about De’va D’Riluth claiming the throne is that her experience will make that link impossible to deny.”

“That does little to answer our question.” Tom stressed. Sy-Klone sighed.

“The Eternians don’t care for us much. Sure, we look like them -- skin colours aside -- but we can’t ignore that Skeletor was Gar. Like us. That makes all Gar outcasts. An Eternian led ‘Verse where we’re eternally second class citizens? I think we’ll pass.”

“You….want an alliance.” Adora was catching on.  
“Exactly. So, get that Queen of Panthera over to see me, would you?”

*

“So far we’ve got this,” Entrapta turned the screen around to show Bow, Glimmer, Mog and Tallstar, “the highlighted buildings are places we’ve yet to try asking questions by.” She nodded at them all huddled around this table outside in the corner of the marketplace. 

“Look! It’s all colour coded!” Mog grinned.

“Of course it is!” Entrapta grumbled, “the fact that anyone wouldn’t make it colour coded is unsophisticated!”  
“I don’t know.” Mog’s smile was cheeky. “I like to code by smell when I have the chance.”

“Not having an identification system is how you fail as a scientist and that includes doing an incredibly inefficient planet wide sweep to locate a single individual.”

Bow laughed awkwardly. Glimmer sighed. Wordak leaned over her screen.

“So what are the colours?”  
“Grey means we haven’t checked. Anything in red is a negative response. The green…”

“Where is the green on this thing?” Tallstar asked. Entrapta proceeded to scroll, and scroll, and scroll and scroll before frowning. “Great! We have been here a month, gone to six cities and we’re still no closer to finding my sister! How are you all this bad at finding someone?”

“She IS one person on a planet with enough space for billions.” Entrapta pointed out.  
“I don’t care. If we had the right information we would have found her by now!” Tallstar gritted.  
“My current hypothesis: the capital has a lot to hide so no one wants to give us information.” 

“No shit!” Tallstar threw her hands up in the air, “we’re practically working with the fuzz. Of course no one wants to talk to us! We need to quit the bounties and go to the underground!”

Bow made a noise of disapproval. “Can we do that at this point? We’d stick out. Everyone would know we were helping their government.” Mog threw an arm around Bow’s shoulders and leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the table.

“Bow’s got a point.” Mog agreed. “We’d probably get shot for helping the fuzz.”  
“Shot!?” Bow paled. “How can we not get shot?”  
“Loan sharks maybe? They aren’t as discerning about those in their employ.”  
Bow looked at him frowning. “You mean they have no standards.”

“Yup! In fact they love to hire ex-military all the time to look tougher. Thing is -- even loan shark clients might get us more info than bounty hunts. Pay’s sometimes better too if you don’t mind the scumbags.” He added, “the fact is, the underground here is mostly Gar and Therans, and they aren’t gonna trust anyone who isn’t one of those.”

Entrapta and Bow both turned to Mog. “Hmmm.” Entrapta noted.  
“Hmm.” Bow echoed.

“The Embassy.” Glimmer murmured. Everyone turned to her. “There’s something about it.”

Bow’s expression was drawn. “There does seem to be a lot of Theran women hanging around there. They all have these marks on their collarbones.”

“They’re Lionesses.” Mog informed, sighing. “Err...prostitutes, essentially.” He clarified. “I can’t really help us with the Embassy then. Don’t know much about the Trafficking world, sorry.”

Bow and Glimmer both shifted uncomfortably at that. “Is there,” Glimmer started, “someone in the crew who does?”

Mog played with his eyepatch and frowned. “Tom does, but traditionally the Lionesses and Tomcats are kept in separate establishments, and the Tomcats operate a little differently -- different sort of clientele they serve if you get me.” Mog sighed. “If they’re mostly Lionesses, oddly enough, her Majesty is our best bet. Man. Boss is not gonna like that idea.”

“I can see that not going over very well.” Glimmer added, sighing. Her melancholy was disturbed when Mog suddenly leapt to his feet and started waving his arms around and jumping. Bow snickered and Entrapta started waving her hair to join him.

“Hey! Captain! Captain! I got a drink with your name on it because hoo boy do you need one!”

Glimmer spotted Adora and Catra with Tom and Tab and teleported to them. Catra jumped at the shower of sparkles but Adora smiled.

“So how did it go?” Adora and Catra exchanged nervous smiles.

“Bad.” Catra answered.  
“Uh. Pretty terrible.”

Glimmer’s expression filled with panic as she began looking them over head to toe, trying to find injuries and sighing with relief when she found none. “What happened?” Tab pushed past Glimmer and by reflex she flinched away. Then forced a smile when she saw Adora’s expression turn grim.

“They know who we are.” Adora answered.  
“Wait? How?”  
“Your guess is as good as mine, Glimmer.”

“Listen up!” Tab called to the others at the table, “we need to get the hell off this planet before an Eternian platoon comes knocking. We’re going to abort the mission for now and~”

“We’re not doing that!” Tallstar interrupted. “You all promised me to get my sister back! It’s not my fault that you’re too busy playing kindergarten with these joke jobs that won’t get us in touch with the people we need just so you don’t upset the babies you took on in your crew!”

Tab’s hackles raised. “It’s no longer safe for us to keep poking around here for much longer.”

“Then hold your end of the deal up, and find a quick way to get the information we’re looking for!” Tallstar threw back. Tab walked right up to her but Entrapta’s hair pulled them apart.

“My priority is, first and foremost that everyone on my ship lives. Your sister isn’t on my ship yet. Too bad, so sad, but not my problem!”

“Fine! You can retreat, and I’ll use the trackers I left all over your ship to send your coordinates and tell the Eternian Army where the Theran Queen is. It’ll take you months to find them all. Think you can get them before King Randor catches and kills you?”

“Wait,” Catra spoke up, “Tallstar, you’re kidding right?”

“Unlike the naive fools most of you are, I know better than to do anything without having insurance of my own.” Tallstar glared at Tab. “Well Captain?”

“What’s your bright idea for getting more information?” Tab unzipped their jacket, slipping it off their shoulders and draping it over the back of a chair as they stretched their neck. They had handwraps over their hands, wrist and forearms. It was white cloth, making the black of the choker wrapped around their left wrist prominent. “Because currently, we’re at a dead end, and if I have to beat common sense into your head, believe me, I will.”

“Try talking to the Lionesses at the Embassy.”  
“There’s no way we can get them to talk to us.” Tab dismissed out of hand.  
Tallstar smirked and turned towards the docks. “Us? No. Her though…”  
“If you knew what my wife went through…” Tab shook their head, “you’re a sick little bitch.”

“If it gets my sister back, I don’t care if it puts her out, she can suck it up. She’s been causing trouble for the whole crew anyways. I hear you shit talk about her all the time. She’s been nothing but dead weight lately. Time for her to pull her load, and if she gets hurt doing it, tough shit right?” Tallstar leaned against the table, “besides, why are any of you acting like you care? You’re all sick of her! Is it to make yourselves feel better because you know she’s pathetic?”

“I would like to kindly remind you,” Tab hissed, getting in Tallstar’s face, “that’s my wife you’re talking about,” Tab crouched down so they were eye level with Tallstar and they smiled, flashing their fangs in a gleaming display of restrained menace, “and you’re a guest on my boat.”

“I thought you didn’t give a damn what happened to your so-called wife anymore?”  
“What’s between us is just that. Between us.” Tab warned.  
“Is it though?” Tallstar smirked. “You bitch at each other over the comms for fucks sake!”   
“That was my own fault for chewin’ her out on live radio.”

“Why are you defending her?” Tallstar asked curiously. “I don’t see her wearing your collar. In fact, the collar you gave her is STILL on your wrist, isn’t it?”

Tab’s jaw set rigid. They snatched their jacket off the back of the chair and they stormed off.

*

“Excuse me miss~” Starla tapped her chin, “uh, I didn’t get your name.”  
“Kittrina.” She answered easily.  
“Miss Kittrina. Where are we heading?”  
“It’s just a little further now, sorry if your feet are getting sore.”

Starla was getting a bad feeling about this, as they weaved through allies. Always away from people. That’s what was unsettling about it. The more they avoided the crowds the more convinced Starla was that this was off. Kittrina seemed off. Starla closed her eyes and tried to reach out her senses. She tried to get a better sight, a sense of flight, of eyes far above.

“You wouldn’t have happened to have seen a lovely little owl lately, have you?”  
“I’ve seen a Falcon named Zoar.” Kittrina grumbled. “Is that what you’re looking for?”

“No! Falcons and owls aren’t even part of….” Starla shook her head. “I’m offended for Glory’s sake that you think anything as majestic and beautiful as him could be likened to a falcon!”

“Look! It has wings? It flies? It doesn’t talk? Bird! Nothing’s majestic about a bird unless they’re plucked and seasoned then roasted, mmm….” Kittrina licked her lips, “Now I’m hungry.”

“You are not eating my owl!” Glory screamed at the older girl’s back. Kittrina’s ears twitched.

“Fine! But if you keep this up, I’ll eat a roasted bird in front of your owl just to spite you both.”  
“What is your relationship with my big sister anyways?”

Kittrina seemed uncomfortable with the question. She smiled. “We work together.”  
“For that bounty hunting firm she’s with now?”  
Kittrina’s lips pressed firm. “That’s the one.”

Tallstar was a liar. Both of them were thinking that right now. Kittrina realized that the elder Star sibling was protecting her little sister. Starla realized that Tallstar was doing something a little more below the table than originally claimed. She felt scared now, felt her heart beat in her throat when they came to a clearing and found several people around them. Eternians in their military uniform.

“Who are you people?” Starla asked quietly. “Are you the Eternians? Is this a trap?”  
“Goddess, you’re an idiot.”

*

Catra was sleeping by her feet. No. That was Melog. Catra was? 

Adora was in a haze. She woke up to find the room empty, with the exception of Melog. She frowned at the sight, slowly dragging herself out of bed to look at herself in the mirror.

“I am Princess Adora of Eternia.” she spoke to it, then frowned. “Still doesn’t feel right.” She gazed into the mirror, examining herself. “I’m She-Ra.” She didn’t like that quite so much either. “I’m...just Adora.” That felt a little better. She sighed, climbing up the stairs to the hatch. She ducked into the kitchen to see the time and sighed. Right. Watch. It was her and Catra’s turn for a watch, and Catra must have just left her to sleep through it. Again. 

“Where is she now?” Adora grumbled, first making her way to the bridge. The only one there was Tom, who seemed alert, and he nodded to her.

“You my relief for the night? Did Captain teach you how to drive yet kid?”  
Adora chuckled, shaking her head. “No. Sorry.”

“Huh. If it’s not you, it’s probably the Captain themself.” Tom sighed, then yawned, “hope they won’t be too long. I’m just about ready to go back to sleep before sun up. Oh well. We’re planet side, having a pilot on duty is really only if we have to ditch, which almost never happens. It’s not as bad skipping out then saying we’re in deep space where asteroids could pop up.”

“Maybe Tab’s getting extra sleep?”

“Goddess Lynx I hope so. Captain’s not sleeping so well lately.” Tom admitted, putting arms behind his head. “Running on fumes once in a while is fine. Constant fatigue gets you killed in our line of work.”

Adora nodded to him. “Any reason why they aren’t sleeping?”  
Tom snickered. “Do I have to state the obvious elephant in the room?”  
“Right.” Which was her fault. Adora sighed. “I’m sorry. They seemed quite happy before all this.”

A loud snort was the response. “Don’t flatter yourself. You helped rip up some ugly, raw scars they’ve been avoiding, that’s all.” Adora’s ears still burned. “About time they wear adult pants and fix it themselves or realize it might not be worth fixing.” He paused. “Speaking of fixing -- you and Catra? Are you going to go for it or not? Getting tired of seeing that one too. At least yours is kind of cute because you’re obtuse and oblivious, unlike obstinate and ornery over there.”

“I...Catra and I are just~”

“Right. Sure. The night seems...okay.” He dodged the word quiet, like it was cursed, “so you should be clear to go back to bed. If you see Tab come by tell them the Smithy they asked for a custom a few weeks back just dropped it off.” Tom pointed to the corner by the ladder up to the weapons deck. There, a long, narrow wooden box leaned in the corner, catching Adora somewhere just just slightly shorter than her hip.

“What’s that thing?”

“Ain’t sure.” Tom admitted. “Some sort of weapon, maybe? Could be a sword, but a blade that long would be too big for the likes of Catra and not long enough for the captain.” Tom shrugged. “Beats me, really.”

“Maybe they’ll tell me when I see them.” Adora turned to head back out, “good night Tom.”

“Night,” he yawned, “kid.”

Adora went back through the galley, pausing only to take a peek into the navigation room. Through the kitchen, to the sleeping quarters where she tiptoed as quietly as she could. She found herself in the recreational area, where Mog was curled up on the floor in the corner again. She passed by him as quietly as she could to the catwalk. The lights of the infirmary were on, and she took a peak but found it empty. No one was in it, but there was a sign that someone had been: a single forearm crutch had been left behind. 

Adora took a left, towards the workshop. It was pitch black. Wait. No. A flash of sparks and purple hair. Entrapta was up to something.

“Entrapta!” She whispered. Entrapta didn’t hear her so she tried again. “Entrapta!”

“Hmm. Everyone is asleep, so not sure if I am hearing my name or maybe a ghost!”  
“Entrapta! I am not a ghost!” Adora called over.

“The ghost seems to be saying that it’s not a ghost?” Entrapta turned to a pair of glowing green eyes and he pointed. Her eyes followed. “Oh. Hi Adora!”

“Have you seen Catra?”  
“She went out on the flight deck!” Entrapta informed.  
“Thanks! Don’t forget to sleep, okay!”  
“Will try!” Entrapta paused, “not to.”

Adora sighed with relief when she went though the hangar and went around the big doors to the smaller door leading out to the flight deck. The wind whipped around her face, and she could hear the lull of waves around her, but she started to look about when she heard voices. First out of curiosity, then of concern when she heard one of those voices raised. She turned to head there, but felt two arms grab around her, one on her mouth the other around her waist.

“Shh.” Catra murmured against her ear. Adora nearly felt her knees go weak. “They’re arguing, but they’re finally talking to each other for once. Listen.”

Adora struggled to hear them clearly over the waves. Catra could hear them perfectly.

“You waited until now to ambush me?” Mal’s voice held an uncomfortable wooden quality to it.  
“Considerin’ you’re actin’ like a frightened little kitten, yeah, I did! We need to talk!”  
“There is nothing to talk about.” Mal’s words dragged as she spoke, like her tongue was heavy.  
“Where were you durin’ our job, De’va?” Tab’s voice curled around that name spitefully.  
“On Command Ops, like you demanded, Captain.” Mal threw back with as much venom.

“You disappeared part way through for a bit. Sick from all the pills again?”  
“Again?” Mal asked, almost confused.   
“Don’t play coy!”  
“About what?”

“Don’t think we haven’t noticed how much weight you lost lately.” Tab scoffed softly. “You’re probably high right now knowing you.” Tab kept their voice soft, even through the barbs.

“That is hardly your business.” Mal huffed.  
“Yeah, you won’t even try to make an excuse. I’m dockin’ your payout. Fifty percent this time.”  
“Don’t. Care.” Mal’s voice was monotone again.  
“Fine. Make it seventy-five.” Tab decided.  
Mal sighed. “Leave me the fuck alone.” She mumbled.

“What’s gonna get you to care, huh? You’ve been in your own lil’world but we need you here. Now. Do one of the kids need to get shot for things to have your undivided attention for once?”

“I’m sure you’ll happily and personally arrange for that to happen wouldn’t you, Captain?”

Even Adora winced at that barb, and it seemed by how Catra tightened her grip that she had too. There was a sound. Something like metal and plastic hitting the metal of the flight deck hard, as if it had been thrown in frustration.

“I only brought one of those with me. Can’t walk without it.” Came an annoyed grumble.  
“You don’t need it right now. We’re talkin’, De’va.” Tab hissed that name again.  
“What? It’s not like I can run off. You could just follow and pester me to death, Captain.”  
“Pester? You're acting like a child.” Tab snorted. “I’ll give it back when we’re done.”

“You’re seriously trapping me here just to talk?” A laugh, though Adora found, listening to this closely that there was a tinge of nervousness to it. “Wow. Not okay. Not okay at all, Tabby.”

A tense silence. A rustle of fabric. Mal gasping. Catra nuzzled against Adora’s neck and she put her hands over Catra’s on her stomach, and sighed, leaning into her.

“Where the hell is my wife, damnit?” Tab’s question was a growl, “cause all I see is some pathetic shell of a bitch wearin’ her face and it’s startin’ to really piss me off!”

“You’re going to stretch out this shirt.” Mal’s voice sounded pinched.  
“It’s just fabric. You can buy a new one.” Tab dismissed.  
“Get your hands off of me.” Came an exacting response.  
“Do I have to throw you into this bloody sea to wake you the hell up?” Tab’s voice raised.”Well?”

“Look!” Panic, naked and frantic. “I’ll say whatever you want me to! Just let me go!” Mal’s voice raised in pitch and volume, “Please!”

“Sorry love, I didn’t mean to raise my voice or threaten you.” Tab softened their voice, “Please, just, tell me what in the Goddess Lynx’s name is going on in that head of yours, Grima?” Tab pleaded, “I hardly even recognize y’lately and it’s become terrifyin’ to me! To everyone!”

“I just…want to disappear.” there was a definite slur to those words. “It’s better that way.”  
“You can’t even get your eyes to focus on me, can you?”  
“I...don’t understand,” Mal continued softly, “why you make me matter.”  
“Grima,” Tab’s voice shook, “please. Just. Come back. Come back to us. To me. Please.”  
“Why?” There was confusion there. “You’d be much better off without me.”  
“You don’t get to decide what’s best for me, idiot!” Tab warned.

A thud. Mal yelping in pain. Stomping footsteps. A pause. Adora and Catra both held their breath, wondering if Tab’s footsteps would turn in their direction, staying still, and hidden around the corner, eavesdropping for all intents and purposes.

“Sy-Klone knows who we are. Knows who you are!” Tab barked. “Tallstar has threatened to sic the Eternians on us if we don’t find her sister and try runnin’. Our back isn’t in a corner yet, but it’s gettin’ there. I need everyone to pull together or we might be caught like rats in a trap.” Tab sighed. “I need you. We need you. The actual you! Not this damn zombie with your face!”

There was only breathing between them. Heavy, measured breaths that sounded like they both had been running.

“If Randor gets us, they’ll hurt you.” Mal murmured.  
“Possibly.” Tab grunted tersely.  
“I don’t want you to get hurt. Especially because of me again.”  
“Right. That’s why gougin’ my heart out by actin’ like a bleedin’ idiot makes so much sense!”  
“I’m sorry, I just I--” Mal broke off, “everything is just so jumbled. I’m not making an excuse I…”

“I know.” Tab acknowledged with a sigh. “I don’t need you to be a hundred percent right now, but I need you. Period. Can you get your head together enough to help out?”

“Okay.” Mal responded with a shaky sigh. “Okay. He has Lionesses?”  
“Tons. At least thirty of them.”

“He probably bought them. Meaning Anwat-Gar is either not as poor as it seems and he’s taken all the money or the Eternians gave funds to satisfy what they think is a fetish. The Lionesses would be loyal to Sy-Klone either because he freed them or because they feel he owns them.”

“What are the chances it’s the first?”

“Too much money changes hands when someone buys a Lioness.” Mal admitted voice trembling as she spoke, “even worse if they know she comes from a good family. Devon had to have paid about a seventh of the Royal Treasury to get me out. It’s also impressed on a Lioness that if she gets bought that she needs to “behave” or she can always be sent back.”

“Goddess.” Tab groaned. “Was that why you were so nervous about upsettin’ Von back in the day?” Silence. Tab sighed. “Sorry, sensitive topic. Shouldn’t have asked.”

“Have you tried seeing if those Lionesses in Sy-Klone’s employ will talk to you?”  
“You mean tryin’ to bribe them into givin’ up information or somethin’?”

“Every Lioness is different, but if you figure out what she wants, she’s usually willing to tell you something.” Mal let out a stream of breath. “I know in my time I spilled a few secrets for a decent meal every now and then, or the promise of them being gentle.”

“No.” Tab grumbled. “I don’t navigate that part of the underground easily.”

“I’ll go then.” Mal informed, “I’ll meet with Sy-Klone to see what sort of deal he wants, Tabby. You’ll have your information before sundown.”

Finally, Tab’s voice lost its hard edge. “How are you going to defend yourself?”  
“It will be fine.”   
“I’ve caught you a few times barely able to hobble around the ship. You’ll be at their mercy.”

“Then the only answer that leaves me relatively safe is to give him what he wants.”  
“No, Grima, don’t.” Tab spoke barely over a whisper.

“It can be just a transaction Tabby. It doesn’t have to mean anything.” A pause. “Besides. I’ve been nothing but trouble lately. It’s the least I can do and it’s all I really deserve.”

Something slammed into a wall. Tab’s yelp soon made it obvious they had punched or kicked the steel panelling. Adora and Catra exchanged glances and slowly backed away. The voices grew fainter, but luckily Tab was practically yelling.

“I know that’s what you like to tell yourself to help you cope with the world around you and how it's hurt you but~” Tab made a series of noises before settling on a roar or frustration, “you know what! Forget it, Grima! Go! Spread your legs! See what that solves! Do that for Adam too while you’re at it, since he always seems to want to get in between them so badly! Come one com~”

“Fuck you!”

It was a fight. Catra knew all too well the sound of a fist hitting flesh. Of inarticulate screaming. Catra let go of Adora and they both ran to the other end of the flight deck to see the two of them on the ground. It was hard for Adora to tell who was on top, but judging that they were shorter, and leaner, she suspected it was Mal who decked Tab in the face.

“Look! You’re all feisty!” Came a desperate laugh. “Glad to see there’s some fight in you!” Tab goaded. Mal spat in their face. “At least now I know you’re not completely dead to the world!” 

“All that just to get a rise out of me? You really are a fucking child!” Mal punched them again.

“Tell me,” Tab gave her a bloody smirk, “did you feel this thrill when you were hittin’ me with that damn stick the other day? Did you enjoy humiliatin’ me in front of everyone like that?”

Mal screamed. Tab laughed bitterly. Mal hit Tab in the stomach hard enough that they were coughing. The two of them rolled precariously. Just when they stopped by the edge of the deck, something odd happened. It was hard to tell how, but they heard someone fall into the water. Tab did, Adora and Catra noted once they were close enough to get a much clearer look.

“Stay the fuck away from me!” Mal yelled again standing on shaking legs, before collapsing to the ground, her legs uncooperative. Catra stared into the dark murkiness of the waves while Adora looked on.

“Tab’s not resurfacing…” Catra breathed. Adora held her breath, looking to Mal who panted for breath on the ground. “Why isn’t Tab coming back up?”

“The waves. Shit.” Mal whispered. “Tab’s not a strong swimmer.” Adora decided on the spot.

“I’m going in.” Adora slipped off her jacket and handed it to Catra. “Tell me where to go once I get them, okay?” Adora squeezed her hand before diving in, leaving Catra to look at the dishevelled Mal lying on her back.

“Mal?”  
“I almost think sawing my legs off would be less painful right now.” Her voice was choked.  
Catra winced at that imagery, then sighed. “Are you and Tab going to be okay?”  
“Honestly?” Mal’s tails slapped the floor, “I’m not sure if this is just a rough patch or death knell.”

Catra sighed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry.”

“No. It’s my own damn fault.” Mal sighed, then laughed. “Tab’s a lot stronger and bigger than me. They were letting me win that fight. I don’t even think Tab was fighting back -- I don’t have so much as a scratch on me. They let themself get thrown off. Probably worried I couldn’t swim right now. Idiot. I can float. Dummy.” Mal shuddered. “They’re always putting me first. Always.”

“That just means they care, doesn’t it?”  
“Well they shouldn’t.” Mal covered her face with both hands, inhaling sharply. “I’m a monster.”  
Catra glared. “If you’re worried that you are, why treat them so badly?”  
“They should leave me. That’s for the best.” Mal shook. “I’m okay with that cost.”

“Drop the pity party, would you?” Catra cut in sharply. “You really think if you make yourself suffer that it’s going to make up for everything you did?”  
“No, but it’s all that I des~”  
“Everyday we get to choose, Mal. Everything we choose to do decides who we are and are becoming. Are you really going to be -- this?”

“I…” A small crack of a smile. “Who told you nonsense like that?”  
“Sparkles.” Catra answered. “When we were fighting Prime.” Some tension left Mal’s body.  
“Wise woman, when she’s not being a bloody twit.” Catra shook her head and smiled.

Adora and Tab came back to the surface coughing and sputtering, and Catra turned her attention to them. “Go a couple of meters to the starboard side. There’s a ladder there!” They reached it, and Catra watched a sopping wet Tab get on board, looking miserable. There were bruises on their face, their lip was split. They spared Mal one withering glance on the ground before heading inside. Adora came up afterwards, and Catra looked to her, holding her gaze.

“You okay?”

“Just wet….and cold.” Catra handed her jacket back and she threw it over her shoulders, sparing Tab’s retreating figure a glance.

“Go after them for me.” Mal turned to Catra. “Please?”  
Catra hesitated, looking to Adora and Mal and then back. “Are you sure?”  
“Yeah. Just make sure they’re okay.”

“It’s fine Catra!” Adora promised. “I’ve got this, I'll help Mal get back to her room!” Catra reluctantly followed Tab in, leaving Mal and Adora. Adora stared down at Mal’s form, at how she hardly moved from her spot. They stayed in silence before she finally spoke.

“You’re ill. Very ill, aren’t you?”  
“It’s not bad.” Mal chuckled, seemingly dazed. “Been years of pain. It’s just much worse now.”  
“You aren’t even well enough to be travelling. Why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t want to be left behind, and yet,” Mal sighed, “I keep saying dumb things. I’m not sure I entirely mean it.” Mal propped up on her elbows, looking to the moon. “Why am I like this?”

“Why do you think I’d have the answer?” Adora sat beside her, and Mal looked over in surprise.  
“You’re sitting with me?”  
“Why not?” Adora proposed. “You don’t look ready to go inside just yet.”  
“Maybe...maybe I could have done it differently.”  
“The punishment?” Adora asked. Mal nodded, her eyes fluttered close. “Why did you choose it?”

“Even a few of my own people were starting to say I was lenient specifically because it was Tab. They were worried it would break the alliance, accusing me of thinking more about my personal relationships than the Kingdom.” Mal frowned. “Most of them wanted to get even with Eternians. Break a few bones. Make them hurt as much as they did, but those rare few were so vocal.”

“So you went along with it because you felt pressured?” Adora asked softly.

“Why I did it doesn’t matter when it caused so much harm. I crossed a line.” Mal admitted solidly. “I’m not surprised. I hated the idea of having anything to do with the throne even as a child. I always knew I was a Monster.” As if to illustrate her point, Mal lifted a hand and it lit up with pink flames. Mal threw them at her. Adora nearly jumped until she noticed they were gentle and warm, and soon, all the water had evaporated leaving her warm in the cool night air. She blinked at both flames and the blatant contradiction that Mal just demonstrated.

“You’re scared, aren’t you?” Adora realized.  
“Of what?”  
“Yourself.”  
“How can I be afraid of myself? That’s silly.” Mal laughed.

Adora stayed very quiet for awhile before saying: “Maybe I’m overstepping here but you’re scared of the fact that people might hate you if they knew the real you.”

“What’s really ‘real’ about me anyways?” Mal mused quietly. “The Queen or the Whore?”  
“Aren’t you both De’va AND Mal?” Adora answered simply. “You are yourself.” Mal chuckled.  
“You make it sound so simple.”   
“Isn’t it though?” Adora challenged.

“No.” She denied. “Some people only want Mal. Usually for a night. Some people want De’va hoping being in the Queen of Panthera’s graces would give them something worth their investment. I doubt anyone actually genuinely wants both.”

“Look, I’m Adora, but I’m also She-Ra. I’m both of them and they’re both really me.” Adora countered frowning. “Other people don’t get to choose that, it simply is how it is. Anyone who actually cares about you would understand that. At one point I thought people only wanted me to be She-Ra, but you know what? They wanted me. The person. Period.”

“She-Ra is just your magic though. You are still yourself. To be De’va means to be this spectre of a girl that died nearly twelve years ago.”

“Maybe you’re more scared they’ll love both parts of you? You’ll have to face it, good and bad.”  
“You know…” Mal’s tongue felt heavy, “Adam kind of said something like that to me recently.”

Adam’s sudden coldness towards the topic of Mal on the day of departure came back to Adora’s mind and she frowned. “Something happened between you two, didn’t it?”

“I ruined our friendship.” Mal admitted with a crooked smile. “I started something I couldn’t finish. I disrespected his feelings.” She covered her face. “It was a mistake.” Her voice cracked. “He refuses to talk to me now, I’ve tried.”

Adora thought over the interactions between Adam and Mal and now Tab. “Did you two cheat?”  
Mal gasped, then paused “Perceptive,” she admitted, “but no.”

“I’m guessing that you wanted to?” Both of Mal’s tails coiled around her leg. She remained silent. Adora slowly pieced the situation together. “Did Adam want to?”

“It’s complicated.” She could feel Adora’s eyes burning into her so she added, “I couldn’t give him what he wanted from it.” Mal closed her eyes as she shivered. “Some things can’t be forgiven. Let’s leave it at that.”

“Sounds messy.” Adora’s lips pressed into a firm line.   
“Yeah...” Mal closed her eyes. 

“Just tell me something,” Adora tilted her head. “Would you ever lie to my brother?”  
There was a pause. A crack of a smile. A short, tired laugh. “You are something else, Adora.”  
“Do you really think denying yourself of anything good somehow fixes anything?” 

Mal didn’t give her an answer, merely laid in silence. Adora looked at her, as how she kept rubbing her left leg. She reached for her sword and held it tight, catching Mal’s look of apprehension and then resignation. The smallest of smiles was on her lips.

“For the Honour of Greyskull!”

Light dazzled them, surrounded them and Adora then reached for Mal. Her eyes were bright and wide, and Adora concentrated, letting the magic flow through Mal. She heard Mal gasp. When she was done, they were both standing, looking at each other.

“You thought I was going to attack you, didn’t you?”  
“Maybe you should have.” Mal admitted, “It would be nice for everything to just...stop.”  
“Catra would miss you. Tab too. Everyone here would.”

That earned Adora a laugh hard enough to have her precariously sway as her eyes squeezed shut. “Even you, little miss ‘how do I get rid of this woman’?” Mal inquired.

Adora took a long time to answer but she responded. “Yes.”  
“Really?” Mal’s eyes cracked open.

“You mean a lot to Catra, and I mean a lot to Catra, and I think I ought to at least try to get to know you better. I haven’t gotten to really do that just yet, but from the little I’ve seen of you? I do think you’re a person with a lot on her shoulders. You care a lot about people.”

“Is that an invitation for a friendship?” Mal chuckled, “sadly I’m not sure if I have the time to give you that, or if I even want to. Raincheck on that thought?” 

“The time?”  
Mal seemed flustered. “Being a Queen is busy!” Adora was almost certain she was lying.

“They may be frustrated with you now but the people on this ship love you.” Adora frowned, “running away when you’ve messed up? Wanting to just die? That’s not fair to anyone. Hold yourself accountable, that’s all everyone wants. They never stopped caring.”

Mal sighed, then smiled thinly. “I did tell Cat I had to come back home, didn’t I? I guess I should stop with the pity parties then.” Mal held onto Adora for balancing support as she grabbed her discarded forearm crutch and sighed. “Have you ever felt like...both versions of yourself are just contradictions? Have you ever found one part of you hating the other for her weakness? Or hating that someone liked only one part of you but never the other?”

Adora frowned, as she shifted back to normal. “I think I get that.”  
“How do you live with that?” Mal shook her head. “Nevermind, I’m being silly.”  
“How are your legs?”

“Sore, but…” she paused, “manageable for the first time in a while. I might be able to get some good sleep for once.” Mal pulled away and began heading back. “Thank you, Adora.”

Adora shook her head. “No, Mal, I’m sorry. I was wrong to make the assumptions I did before.”

“Part of being Royalty, Princess,” Mal began, “is that someone will always think you’re drunk on power, you don’t give a damn, you’re making backroom deals, showing favoritism, or what have you.” She sighed. “It’s easy to critique and boast about being able to do better when you know you’ll never have the responsibility and pressure.” Mal chuckled. “I have a thick skin. It’s fine.”

“It isn’t.” Adora insisted. “You’re still a person. You deserve a benefit of a doubt.”

“Doesn’t exist for Queens of a Kingdom. The joys of the crown!” She declared sarcastically,   
“I’m so sorry for putting you in that position.”

Mal hesitated, then sighed. “I hate it all. I wished I wasn’t ill as a kid. That I never inherited my father’s magic abilities. That I was never born royal. I don’t want to be Queen!” Her voice caught. “I just wanted to be normal with a simple life. Even the people who say they don’t give a damn about all those details insist on putting me before themselves.” She paused. “It feels like all I do is eat away at people’s lives.”

Adora’s eyes widened in realization. “You feel like a burden.”

“No.” She shook her head, “A burden suggests that at some point I have the potential to be worth something to someone. I’m more like a parasite, too selfish and monsterous to give anyone anything substantial in return. All I can do is take and ruin.”

“Maybe you just don’t know what it is that you are capable of giving.” Adora tried to reassure.  
“Of course I know what I can give.” Mal dismissed. “A passing pleasure. A satiated lust.”

“You’re more than your body.” Adora pointed out. “I know you can give other things. You gave Catra a family. It’s clear you love her.”

“Good night Adora!” Mal suddenly declared. “Don’t stay out here too long, it might get nippy!” Mal retreated as quickly as she was physically capable of, leaving Adora to gaze up at the stars.

“I might have really misjudged.” She murmured. “At least now I know one of the reasons you and Catra understand each other.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Kittrina in this. She's a brat, but not one who likes what she does, lol. Starla being the wide eyed ingenue was on purpose, much like in the show I wanted her to be more innocent. But I also like contrast: Starla is very close in age to Kittrina, and yet poor Kittrina doesn't have a single drop of that trusting nature, that ability to believe in the goodness of others. To the point where she mocks and derides Starla for having it. Poor girl.
> 
> Tab and Mal are threatening to fall apart at the seems. Tab is angry and brooding and Mal seems almost belligerently stoking their frustration and anger on purpose (and at the end of this chapter, it almost certainly seems to be Mal trying to manufacture outrage for Tab at this point.) 
> 
> Despite this, Old man Tom seems to be rather cool and calm about it when he brings it up to Adora. I think he trusts in them to figure it out for themselves: whether they will continue on as a romantic pair or not is a decision he thinks only they can figure out and he trusts that they will. Even though their confrontation here is fraught and full of frustration, there seems to be some understanding brokered between the two of them as well. Tab still can see Mal cares about them -- even if her current state of mind has her acting on this care in an inherently toxic, self destructive way and Mal is finally able to acknowledge that Tab and her would probably already be towards the path of reconciliation if she just stopped metaphorically shooting herself in the foot by acting out. To the point where she's now beginning to ask herself why she's even doing it and if there’s even a benefit.
> 
> I do see this fight between them as a tip in the positive direction: both of them leave hurt and angry, but they leave more angry with themselves than anything. Tab for losing their cool only to realize Mal is doing this to try and earn some form of punishment. It’s a sheer sign that Mal has been triggered and she’s subconsciously seeking to harm herself, and aggression towards someone like that is more detrimental than helpful. I think Tab knows this, and also knows Mal only pushes them because Tab is perhaps one of the only — if not THE only — person she feels safe with. That isn’t to say her actions are excusable, but rather that we all tend to put our crap onto the people we sense can handle us at our worst, especially those of us who were brought up in situations without a lot of stability in our lives.
> 
> Mal is angry at herself for acting out yet again and having an "oh shit" realization of: “I am pushing people away in order to protect them and all I'm really accomplishing is hurting them...which is counterintuitive because I'm trying to push them away TO protect them from me.” Whether these two will end up with each other again? Time will tell, and I hope you find whatever conclusion it ends on and how they get there to be satisfying.
> 
> Adora and Catra are helping out. Especially Adora who is taking on too much personal guilt for this and sees it as her mission to help fix it. Catra though, seems to have Mal thinking on her actions more. I think knowing her own downward spiral and coming out of it, she’s got more to say about the stupidity that is thinking people who love you would ever want you to be hurt just because you had hurt them.
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “This is MY ship Mog. Get it? This is a dictatorship, not a fuckin’ democracy!” Tab was getting agitated, they sat very stiff tail puffing up, “Anyone who doesn’t agree can either shove it up their ass or get the hell off my boat!”
> 
> “Do anyone’s opinions around here really matter when we don’t have my little sister like you promised and I can get you all killed?” Tallstar spoke before Mog could respond. He sat back sulking as she walked to the kitchen table. “Look, do I have to set a deadline on this to get you to move or what?”
> 
> “Tab just said we had another job.” Adora jumped in. Tallstar glared.
> 
> “Yeah, and are we going to be doing more work for the Eternians, or are we finally going to realize they’re the ones who won’t tell us shit and we need to go to the people who will?”


	27. “Keep that close, it’ll help you stay pretty.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mog speaks the same fear Catra held days ago: does the Purrsia still have a space on it for Mal if she's a danger to them all?  
> Angella and Sunda meet for the first time and the former is left with a gift that she both appreciates and is unsettled by.  
> Tab remembers the first time they ever met Adam while calling a temporary truce with Mal. Hesitantly, Mal accepts.  
> Teela confronts Adam on the issue of Mal and finds the truth in some ways can be worse than your imagination.  
> Mal tries to put on a brave face for the rest of the crew. Bow, Adora, Catra and Tab aren't quite buying it.  
> Kittrina does a little digging and discovers the opportunity she's waited for has finally presented itself.  
> Adora and the others call Tallstar out on her hypocrisy.
> 
> CW: Implied torture, drug use.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday! Today was a busy day! I was wondering if I'd get this up but here I am! Enjoy.
> 
> As always: Kudos and reviews are greatly appreciated and treasured. They both encourage me and know someone else is enjoying this little adventure. Per the norm I'll respond to you all so thank you!

Hey Adora,

I don’t know what you said or did for Mal, but she seems to be coming around. I guess you two are working it out? 

Have you ever done something that’s kind of sort of bad? But you did it purely for the sake of someone’s own good. Like...stealing food to keep someone from being hungry? Tab and I came up with an idea. I’m not sure it’s a good one, but when it blows up, I hope you won’t be too mad about it. It’s kind of one of those things that no matter the justification, it’s still sort of bad.

Catra

*

Eleven and a half years ago…

Tab stood at attention. Shoulders square. Chin high, staring straight ahead. Before them, closest to the observation window was Crown Prince Devon. His mismatched eyes bright like stars as he fidgeted, not for the first time, with the fresh scar along the bridge of his nose. A testament to his recent troubles and even more recent skirmish that thankfully ended in victory. Standing nearly shoulder to shoulder with him, though much shorter was Adam of Eternia. He was what now? Fifteen there about? His face hadn’t yet lost the roundness of youth, but it was clear he was due for a growth spurt any second now. He looked comically serious for someone his age, but Tabby didn’t let it show on their face, instead staring at what had the two Princes’ attention: a Princess. The youngest Princess of Panthera. De’va D’riluth.

“The Doctors say if she really fell from that roof, it’s a miracle anyone found her out there alive, never mind the incident in question happening a few days before you found her. Those assholes gave her no medical attention. We don’t even know how she’s alive.” Adam was frowning.

“I think the Goddess Lynx must have been watching her. Protected her.” Devon sighed.

“Now that things have calmed down a bit, you need to tell me what you’re dealing with, Crown Prince Devon.” Adam demanded, turning to him, a hand on his forearm, “who is this enemy?”

Devon laughed. A nervous reflex. “Look, you’re a little young to know all the gory details of our internal affairs. I don’t want to drag a young kid like you into this if I don’t have to.”

“I’m already in this.” Adam’s voice cracked, and he frowned as it took away the edge to the authoritative air he was trying to portray. “I offered you medical aid, didn’t I? Both to you and your sister. That means I’m a part of this now, whether you want me here now or not.”

“When they ask where you’ve been just say you only wanted to help me because we were friends and you had no idea bout the rest.” Devon dismissed, brushing his messy black hair from his face with a smile. “They won’t pressure you too much. They’ll place the blame on me.”

“Prince Devon,” Adam stood up taller, but he still came up short to Devon. “Your sister is a dear friend of mine. When Felis Quadi fell, we took her, your mother, your sisters and you in. That was almost ten years ago, but the five years Princess De’va and I spent together is a very treasured time to me. This is the first time I’ve seen her since and…” He trailed off, his voice breaking -- this time with tears. “Are you really expecting me to pretend I never saw any of this?”

“H-hey Adam, that’s not…” Devon sighed, “I...ah man. I don’t know what to say.”

“Who did this?” Adam asked hoarsely. “The Doctors say there was evidence of extreme neglect. Her hand? Those injuries are almost a year old. She may never walk with that spinal cord injury, and it’s the newest injury she’s got and it was days old when she got here! Nevermind walking on that leg again. It was shattered, and looking at it -- deliberately.” Adam shuddered, “Even worse: that happened MONTHS ago. It’s healed as much as it could but probably only causes pain, but we’re not sure because she’s sort of out of it. It’s infected. They must have left her without medical attention for months, Devon. That’s torture!” Adam growled, his hands curling into fists. “I want to find those sick bastards and~”

“Aren’t you a little on the young side to be talking so uncouth Prince Adam?” Devon tried to diffuse. Adam turned on his heel, ready to deck him and Devon closed an eye. “Yikes. Okay. You have a point. I’m really pissed about it too, honest. I could slit throats in a cold rage. That’s my precious baby sister, after all. But first things first: will she at least be able to walk again?”

“Depends on how her spine heals, though, thanks to your littermate, some of the technology we reverse-engineered from the Horde might salvage the damaged nerves.” 

“Ah. The mind control chips that integrate into the nervous system?” Devon put together.

“We’ve come up with something based on that technology to help those with spinal cord injuries. We thought it would be a good investment for our own soldiers. Those with incomplete cord disruption have shown the most promise which -- by some miracle happens to be her case. I’m not sure how much good it’ll do though. The Doctors say it might be possible to save it though.”

“Her leg?” Devon guessed. “They’ve done how many surgeries on it now? ‘Might’ doesn’t sound very confident Adam. Forgive me but I’m growing skeptical that this is the best decision for her.”  
“Two. One to remove bone shards. One to break it and realign it again so it can heal properly.”  
“If they amputated, would it be below or above the knee?” Devon asked, straight to the point.  
Adam blinked owlishly. “They could still save her leg, Prince Devon, we can’t ignore that.”

“Break it down for me.” Devon demanded. “What would ‘saving her leg’ look like? Would she be guaranteed to walk on it? Run on it? Without pain? What about infections post operation?”

“Well, there’s still more fragments, and another fracture that didn’t heal right. We should consider fixing that and seeing how it goes before jumping to amputation, shouldn’t we?”

Devon sighed. “So at least two more surgeries on top of the two she already had. Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds? A lot of things can go wrong there, and that will take what? Another year or two? You want her to suffer that long for something the doctors aren’t even confident will work?” He shook his head. “No. It might take even longer because they can’t operate if it’s infected. Which it is, right now. If sepsis becomes a risk, an amputation will become necessary.”

“But it’s her leg!”  
Devon took a breath focusing on the practical “What about a prosthetic?”  
“Are you serious?” Adam asked, shocked, “but her transformation~” 

“Many Therans who have a nasty spell of trauma can never transform again.” Devon pointed out calmly. Tab had to bite their lip to keep from saying anything. They taught Therans in the military to shift, to use it as a last ditch effort to save your own life. Let your instincts preserve you. Tab had never been able to do it successfully. Twenty-five and unable to shift. Pathetic. “You do it as a kid all the time, but you learn to reign it in. Since we’ve been at war for so long, many of us just can’t do it anymore. My point is, we have no guarantee she’ll be able to shift anymore, but we know she’ll have her bipedal form. It’s what she’s in now after all. If she can’t shift, she deserves as great of a quality of life as possible in the form she’ll be stuck in.” Devon positioned.

“I suppose you make a valid point.”

“That technology -- bionic limbs -- it’s developed tremendously, hasn’t it?” Devon sighed. “She might still be able to feel a few things with a bionic leg, like where her leg is, pressure. Maybe one day even hot and cold, or a person’s touch. But for now, being able to walk and to run? It’s better than not having those things, or constant pain.

Adam sighed, clearly uncomfortable. “I guess I lost sight of what’s most important in all of this mess. Her. Forgive me, Prince Devon. I’ll focus on my dear friend’s health then.”

“Atta boy. But don’t beat yourself up too much.” Devon clapped him on the shoulder, “you’re angry because you care. You’re able to care because you have compassion.” Devon explained to the young man. “you’re growing up into a good man Adam. One your mother, if she were still here, would be quite proud of.”

Adam’s breath hitched. “Thank you.”

“De’va is catatonic still, right? That means they need consent before any further medical intervention is taken, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I will give them permission to amputate. I want De’va to have the best quality of life she can get after all she’s been through. It’s not going to happen with that mess of a leg.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to see if she’ll come around? Talk to her maybe? See if you get a response? See if she wants to take a chance? Are you really comfortable making that call?”

“It’s infected now, right? Who’s to say the very high fever she’s been running isn’t contributing to her state? We’re lucky she hasn’t had seizures, heck, for all I know -- which is very little -- catatonia could be a sign that she’s been having a series of tiny seizures. What could that be doing to her long term?” Devon sighed, shaking his head. “I know amputation isn’t an easy pick, but saving the limb doesn’t seem like it’s going to benefit her. I know they see it as a failure, but is it really? Let’s not make the decision when it becomes an absolute emergency.”

“How is she going to feel when she finds out? Hasn’t she lost enough?”

“Let me handle that.” Devon assured. “She’s seventeen still. Barely. Just a couple of weeks now -- not exactly the thing I want to give her for an eighteenth birthday.” He frowned. “That makes her technically a minor by our laws. Yours too if I’m not mistaken. Old enough to make her own decision, sure, but not in a state where she can. So go ahead and treat me as her Substitute Decision Maker. I am her next of kin, and as I was born first in the litter I guess that makes me the legal guardian too. Dad, only the Goddess Lynx knows where he is and our mother, as you are aware is long dead.” Adam flinched when both Devon and Tab coursed together:

“May Her Majesty Rest in Peace.”

Adam turned to face Tab then and blinked, looking at the young soldier. “That’s the youngest ‘Major’ of your military, right?” Tab’s eyes turned to Devon in askance and he chuckled.

“You’re so quiet I almost forgot you were there. Sorry, Major Manx. At ease, and speak freely.”

Tab bowed to Adam. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Royal Highness, Adam, Crown Prince of Eternia. My name is Tabby Manx, a Major with the Theran Armed Forces.” They straightened up and stood quietly, knowing better than to interject into a conversation between future rulers.

“The TAF is almost completely under my control now.” Devon admitted. “If that isn’t a vote of confidence and a disregard for our so called Regent, I don’t know what is.”

“So he really did steal the throne from you?” Adam said. “It was just a rumour, I thought, but I guess I was wrong.”

“I was away when mother died, so he swooped in, and has put a few legal barriers to keep me from overruling him.” Devon stroke his chin. “So I did some digging. Trying to figure out what he was up to. Uncle threw up stupid beurocratic barriers when I requested Tabby Manx as my XO and that was when I knew I was onto something big.”

“What kind of barriers?” Adam pressed.

“First it was that he was a commoner without even a last name or family.” He tipped his head in Tab’s direction. Tab nodded. “So I did some ancestry tracking and found who he was related to and retroactively inducted him into that family. Then it was ‘oh, he isn't a highly enough ranking officer’ to be my second in command. I figured -- what the hell, Tab was very talented and already rising through the ranks pretty quickly. What’s another boost? At the hands of the Crown Prince to boot?” Devon chuckled. Tab frowned a bit. “It is,” Devon sobered, “well earned though, and people are right to see you as a hero amongst those of lesser birth.”

“Thank you, your Highness.” Tab bowed.

“What led to the investigation?” Adam asked, curious.

“Inconsistencies. I noticed we were still capturing Horde bases mostly intact ever since Lybica managed the first one with her platoon, yet no new tech was ever “found” according to the reports.” Devon explained, “Tabby here is one of the children who survived the Horde labs and was rescued by my sister years ago. I was headhunting for some soldiers for my own unit when I came across him. I think it’s a sign from the Goddess herself, for you see Tabby was doing some digging too and we have reasons to believe Chief Carnivus is withholding both the technology and what he’s learned from it.” Devon nodded to Tab.

“Sir!” Tab saluted, then let their hand drop to their side. “I was able to get clearance to look into a few files with my last promotion -- the one before I came Major. It seemed to be an oversight on someone’s part as to who had access.” Tab admitted. 

“An oversight? By who?” Adam asked, curious.  
“The Late Queen’s half brother and current Regent: Chief Carnivus D’Riluth.”  
“So he’s responsible for what happened to De’va?”

“That is the workin’ hypothesis.” Tabby confirmed. “After all, he was the one who declared Princess De’va a Persona Non Grata on Panthera -- but prior to that as you know, he accused her of killing the Queen and was rushing to have her executed without trial.”

“Sounds more like she saw him do it,” Adam figured out, “and he wanted her to take the fall.”

“That is my guess as well. Also, Chief Carnivus has been makin’ the forces he personally commands in charge of every rescue mission. None of the supposedly rescued Therans ever enter societal roles. They simply reach the Halfway House Princess Lybica set up and then they disappear, completely -- unless they suffer from some sort of physical ailment. Then they’re processed as usual.” Tab explained cooly. “His personal forces keep reportin’ havin’ higher numbers each year though he’s not recruitin’ from our militia. We believe he may be reprogrammin’ the mind control chips of the rescued Therans to force them to fight for him.”

Adam put a hand to his chin. “I knew he couldn’t be trusted. The moment he claimed De’va killed her mother...” Adam shook his head. “I was right to believe nothing about him added up.”

“Why do you think I swooped in and pushed the banning of capital punishment in our senate? It was to buy my little sister time, and luckily Uncle hadn’t taken over the senate before I could stop him.” Devon shook his head. “Unfortunately Sunda had an ‘episode’ and let De’va out of jail.” He sighed heavily. “So De’va ran off scared. People think this is a confirmation of her guilt but...I can’t blame her for fearing our Uncle would kill her one way or another, and she knew she was a sitting duck in a jail cell. Argh!” Devon made a mess of his hair. “Let’s just say good old Uncle has been prickly with me and Sunda ever since and I started to piece it all together.” He gave a cheeky grin.

“Prince Devon, believe me when I say I tried every day for three years to convince my father to realize that man is a snake.” Adam frowned. “But he won’t listen to me. All he does is talk about my mother being gone now and that we need to focus on defeating Horde Prime at all costs and leave Panthera to its...” Adam made a face, “squabbling.”

“I believe you.” Devon smiled, and turned back to the window. “I know you’ve got a good heart Adam. Which is why I’ll say this: yes. Carnivus is almost certainly responsible for this, and so are the Eternians who run the underground that allow the Theran Dens to thrive. The same Eternians who were handed those planets by your father once your Kingdom conquered them. Something which you know your father is turning a blind eye to on purpose. If you’re certain about this, certain about helping me, I’d like to make an Alliance with you.”

“Of course I’m certain.”

Devon turned to Tab then and Tab gulped and snapped a quick salute. “I want you to be there for the negotiations, if you don’t mind.”

“As you wish, sir.”

*

Breakfast normally was the most uneventful meal they shared. Normally. This morning was different though. Tom, as was his normal, hung around the stove, serving up some sort of stew for the day. Lately, he always made sure some sort of soup was a part of the meal, something Catra and Adora noticed more and more was becoming habitual. When pressed, Tom would only say it was because soup was “easy on the stomach” and Catra quickly deduced that Tom was perhaps the quiet reason why Mal hadn’t flat out starved lately. Adora was surprised when Catra pointed this out but when she thought about it...it checked out.

Tab sat at the head of the table as usual with a reusable ice pack pressed against their face as they ate wordlessly. In the lights of the kitchen, the purple bruises on their brown skin was almost alarming, and Adora wondered if the grimace was mostly the Captain attempting not to move their face too much and making it worse.

“How are you feeling?” Catra asked softly, standing up to approach them.  
“Like I got decked and then thrown off a deck.” Tab rolled their teal eyes. “How is she?”

“Deep asleep, last time I saw her.” Catra admitted, passing something to Tab. Adora could have sworn she heard a faint rattle. “Here.” Tab closed their hand around something cylindrical before tucking it away into their pocket.

“You mean passed out.” Tab concluded. “Seems that’s the only way she can sleep these days.”

Catra shrugged her shoulders. “She seemed calmer when I saw her, that’s all I know.” Catra gave a slight smile as she turned back towards Adora. “Adora helped. She did...something.”

Bright, burning cheeks. Red. Adora scratched the back of her head. “I didn’t do much. Really.”

Catra’s smile at her grew, charmingly. It lit up her entire face and Adora couldn’t help but stare in awe. It made her look beautiful. “Even if it wasn’t much, she seemed better off late last night.”

Tab looked to Adora. The gaze was gentle, pleading and she flushed. “What did you do?”  
“Just...a little healing with the Sword of Protection.”  
“So…” Tab sighed heavily, with resignation, “nothin’ I’m capable of then.”  
“Sorry. I know you were probably hoping it was something you could do for her yourself.”

“Yeah, well, at least she’s in less pain. I’ll count that as a win, no matter how small.” Tab frowned when they heard a low, mocking whistle.

“Yo, Captain!” Mog called as he sauntered in, “who smoked you in the face? Looks awful.”

Tab bit off a part of a roll, chewing for several seconds. “I walked into a pole while half asleep.” Tab grumbled around a mouthful of bread. Catra looked to Adora who shrugged. Mog snorted.

“Face first? Multiple times?” Mog shook his head. “You know the layout of this ship better than anyone. It’s practically your baby, so that seems a little hard to believe. Next time try a better lie, would you?” He frowned. “So it’s that bitch of a Royal who did it, huh?”

“Watch your mouth.” Tab hissed, putting the ice pack down and revealing the extent of the deep purpling bruises around the ridge of their eye. “My wife is still part of this crew, you know.”

“Queen De’va,” Mog stressed, “has dragged us into her shitty upper class drama and expects us to be good little subjects and fix her messes for her while she spends all day high as a kite.”

Tab growled. “She’s not expectin’ us to fix jack shit, and she’s on medication.”

“Pfft. Sure, that’s why she pops pills like candy.” Mog played with his eye patch. “Don’t lie to yourself. Or to me. I know her type. Upper class pricks who only remember us rabble when it suits them or makes them look good. I know you get it,” Mog grumbled, “You were a Horde Orphan just like me, Cap. Defending her isn’t gonna get you much other than disappointment.” 

“Okay, fine, you don’t want me to lie: how about I shatter your lower leg, leave it like that for a couple of months, have you go through several surgeries to remove bone fragments, break and reset what can be saved of your leg before amputatin’ the rest and see how you do?”

Mog paled, and played with his eyepatch even more. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be an assh~”

“Yes you did.” Tab spoke between clenched teeth. “Now sit and shut it, Mog.” Tab commanded him. “Eat your food. I don’t want to hear a single peep from you while I brief the next job.”

Mog slowly took a seat beside Bow, across from Glimmer who seemed to avoid eye contact with him. Tom wordlessly offered the stew and some other things before going back to the stove.

“How many eggs and strips of bacon?” Tom called.  
“Three of each please!” Mog called.  
“Alright. Coming on up. Try not to start an argument with the entire ship while it does, will you?”

“Yes Dad, I’ll behave.” Mog grumbled sarcastically at Tom. “Cap, you gonna cut her loose or what?” Eyes turned to Tab who merely picked up the ice pack and put it back on their temple.

“We had a talk last night.” Tab responded. “Again, what part of ‘shut up’ don’t you understand?”  
“Seems more like a fight.” Mog noted. “Look, I’ll shut up once I know she isn’t a risk to us.”

Catra’s breath caught. Adora noticed. Yesterday Catra suggested the same thing. Now here they were with the same sentiment echoed. Tab seemed to realize this themselves. They took a moment to chew a little longer than necessary, deeply upset at the evidence mounting towards what Adora was beginning to suspect was an inevitability Tab was trying to kick down the line as long as possible: if Mal continued like this, they were all better off without her.

“That’s my call, not yours.” Tab stressed. “I still think she has a place here. With us.”  
“You mean with you.” Mog snorted. “Don’t think with your dick Cap. She’s nothing but trouble.”  
“Fuck you, Mog.” Tab threw the ice back down on the table. 

“Do you want us all to die? Let her palace guards take care of her pathetic ass, that’s what they signed up for and get paid to do!” Mog hissed, his eye narrowing. “I don’t like what this situation is doing to you and Tom and Catra.”

“So you just want us all to give up on her?” Catra looked at Mog in disbelief.  
“Don’t say it like that, Catra.” Mog pouted. “I’m just trying to be pragmatic. This ain’t healthy.”  
“She’s still in there Mog! We just have to snap her out of it.”  
“Sure she is. Somewhere deep, deep down.” He rolled his eye. “Like very deep. Deep down.” 

“Mog, she’s staying.” Tab informed. “That’s final.”

“Fine. Just remember though, you still have her collar. Think about why that is. Why is it that you haven’t given it back to her?” Mog’s tail flicked with agitation as he turned his eyes to Bow, Glimmer, Adora and Catra. “Entrapta’s in the workshop with Clone boy, which is for the best. I don’t think this kind of conflict is her thing. So, what are your thoughts?”

“This is MY ship Mog. Get it? This is a dictatorship, not a fuckin’ democracy!” Tab was getting agitated, they sat very stiff tail puffing up, “Anyone who doesn’t agree can either shove it up their ass or get the hell off my boat!”

“Do anyone’s opinions around here really matter when we don’t have my little sister like you promised and I can get you all killed?” Tallstar spoke before Mog could respond. He sat back sulking as she walked to the kitchen table. “Look, do I have to set a deadline on this to get you to move or what?”

“Tab just said we had another job.” Adora jumped in. Tallstar glared.

“Yeah, and are we going to be doing more work for the Eternians, or are we finally going to realize they’re the ones who won’t tell us shit and we need to go to the people who will?”

Glimmer stood up. “Everyone’s trying their best around here. So things haven’t gone smoothly? So what? It’s pointless if we all end up dead.”

“If my sister’s dead,” Tallstar spoke softly, but clearly enough for everyone to catch every single word, “I’ll make sure each and every one of you here live long enough to regret it.”

“Leave them out of it, Tallstar.” That got everyone’s attention. Such simple words, but really the first words many of them had heard from her directly in weeks. Mog’s ears perked up, then he flushed with embarrassment and turned to his food. Glimmer and Bow watched on curiously. Catra seemed antsy. Adora was searching for signs of visible pain. Tab seemed entranced.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” Tallstar looked over to Mal. Her hair was brushed back in a way that showed of it’s slight bit of waviness to it. Her mismatched eyes were outlined with a grey eyeliner, and she wore a simple black dress. It was short, but the knee high leather boots made up for it. Tom wolf whistled.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that from either of you.” Mal smirked, flipping her hair back. “Kittrina is my niece and she got your siblings into this. Let me take full responsibility.” 

She was using two crutches today, but actually moved easier. Tab’s eyes were trained to her the entire time as she found herself a seat as far from Tab as possible given what remained.

“Hot date?” Tom teased, looking from Mal to Tab. “Or...not.”

“Hey…” Tab’s eyes found the blue wood of the table. “You’re walkin’ a lot better today.”

“Yeah, well, they still hurt like hell.” Mal informed dismissively, then turned to Catra and Adora and managed a smile. “Thanks, Adora. For everything last night.”

Glimmer looked from Catra, to Adora to Mal, back to Catra, in a loop. “Am I missing something here?” Adora and Catra shook their heads. Mal sighed.

“Listen. We need information. So I had Percival set up a meeting for me with Sy-Klone tomorrow.” Mal looked up to Tallstar, “does that suffice?”

“Why tomorrow?” Tallstar demanded. “My sister needed our help like yesterday!”

“Because we already accepted a job for today. It’s a simple runner job, sure, but a job is a job and Cymric Cooperative policy states we don’t double book.” Mal threw a glance Tab’s way.

“That’s correct.” Tab confirmed. “I already had our day plotted out, mostly as a rest day, but to get this small job done too. Keepin’ our credits topped is prudent and we need a little R and R.”

“I think my sister’s life is more important than money or your precious rest.” Tallstar warned.

“If this turns into a full on engagement with the Eternians, not being sharp enough to handle the situation will only lead to us or your sister getting killed. Or both.” Mal informed coolly.

“Trust the process, Tallstar. I get why you’re antsy,” Tab confirmed, “But Tom, Mal and I? We’ve been at this sort of thing for years. We know what we’re doin’, so trust in us.”

“Why so you can screw it up again?” Tallstar grumbled.

“This isn’t really about us is it? You know Kittrina has a vindictive streak a mile long. At the end of the day you betrayed her and now you’re panicking about how she’ll get even.” Mal surmised.

“You know what she’s like.” Tallstar’s eyes narrowed. 

“If you’re concerned I won’t be giving it my all, you’re welcome to come with.” She looked to the corner where Percival was, ever silent and watching “it seems bringing a known bodyguard is frowned upon. It’s not very...sporting. Sends the wrong message.” Percival frowned and crossed his arms. “Afterwards, I wanted to see if we can get one of the Lionesses to talk, hmm?”

Tallstar seemed uncomfortable, sneaking glances to Tab who seemed to have gone completely silent. Finally, Tallstar spoke up. “Are you sure in your condition, that wouldn’t be too much?”

“If I am to be perfectly honest with you, it probably is but~” the loud scraping of a chair caught everyone’s attention and Tab stood up and huffed. They turned, heading out to the bridge. Mal sighed pinching the bridge of her nose, “as I was saying, time is of the essence here. It’s fine. I can grin and bear it.”

*

The constant drip of water was going to drive Angella up a wall. Her purple eyes fluttered open after yet another attempt to fall asleep was foiled. When she opened her eyes she found someone on the other side of the bars staring at her from beneath a cowl, practically glowing.

“Aah!”  
“Shh!”

Angella stifled her scream to look at the woman. Dark hair. Stripes. Mismatched eyes: one gold, one blue. She seemed almost middle aged. There were crow’s feet beginning to gather at the corner of her eyes, which were deep and sunken and tired. Sad. Frown lines. Her brow creased as she frowned.

“Your wings are so...pretty. Much prettier than the Sorceress.”  
Angella looked at the woman suspiciously. “Thanks. I think.”  
“Could I have a feather sometime?” She asked with childish awe. Danger stung at Angella.

Instinctually, Angella wrapped her wings around herself, backing up. “Who are you?”

“You really are a Mizar, like my daughter said, aren’t you?” She spoke with a quiet voice.  
“Your daughter?”  
“She’s the small girl you saw.”  
“You mean that teenage Magicat girl?”  
“Right. She’s not so little anymore.” The woman put a hand to her head, “I forget sometimes.”

The woman backed away from the bars, muttering to herself, the flashlight in hand bouncing along as she backed away, almost meandering to the corridor up ahead. She pushed her cowl back, revealing her large ears, twitching insistently. She began to walk further away.

Angella rushed to her feet, running to the bars, grasping them. “Wait! Can you get me out?”  
The woman blinked back into awareness and shook her head. “Not yet.”  
“Why?”  
“My Uncle is still here. If he finds out he will hurt you and punish me.” 

Angella shivered at that news, then took a shark breath. “Then when’s the best time?”

“Kittrina is young. He’s throwing her at my little sister. Her Aunt.” The woman curled some of her strands around her finger and frowned, “If De’va is wise, she will get Kittrina to stay somewhere safe and lure Uncle out. When he’s distracted, we should run.”

“When do you think that will be?”

The woman shrugged her shoulders, her ears flattening. “De’va and I can’t speak anymore. Her last spy got found out. She can’t send messages and neither can I. I’ll keep an eye on uncle.”

Angella tugged her messy bangs out of her face, and blinked when the Theran woman reached under her cloak and handed her a brush.

“It’s pretty. Tangles are bad, yes?”  
“Th-thank you.”  
“Keep that close, it’ll help you stay pretty.” She flashed her teeth in a cheeky grin, fangs and all.  
“Huh?” Angella blinked and the woman pointed to her own hair. “Right. Thank you.”  
“He’s lascivious. Especially if you’re defiant. It’s why he wants De’va most of all.”

A cold chill ran down Angella’s spine, and she gripped the handle of the brush even tighter.

With that she nodded. “I should go, before Uncle finds I was here.”  
“Wait! Can I at least get your name?”  
“Sunda.” Was all she said before leaving.

Angella took a deep breath, looking at her healed over burned scars on her arm. She took the strangely heavy hairbrush in hand and began to brush her hair with it, paying special mind to every tangle and giving up on the ones too far gone. She set it down, then frowned when she looked at it. She picked it up again, noticing it’s strangely heavy weight, before noting the handel: there seemed to be a break between the handel and the brush. 

She pulled but nothing happened. She twisted and it gave way, unveiling a metal threading, and then a small but profoundly sharp spike.

“A hidden weapon.” Angella quickly realized the gift for what it was. “If this is the first thing you can think to offer, I wonder what sort of horror you deal with, Sunda.”

*

“We’re going with her.”

It wasn’t a request, so much as it was a demand. Catra said it the moment they finally sat down after wrapping up their duties for the day/ Adora knew that look in Catra’s eyes, that tone in her voice when she squared her shoulders and set her jaw a certain way. She wasn’t just committing, she was doubling down. Hours after completing their delivery to a church of Lynx, Adora found herself here with Catra, Bow, Glimmer and Tallstar, prepping for tomorrow morning. For something that might turn into a full blown battle at moment’s notice.

“We?” Bow asked, frowning.  
“Me and Adora of course.” Catra added. Adora blinked owlishly.

“Wait, me?”  
“Fine. If you don’t want to go, I’ll take Sparkles.”

“Glad to know I’m the second choice.” Glimmer grumbled crossing her arms.

“Wait! Catra! I didn’t say I wouldn’t go with you!” Adora protested, then rubbed the back of her neck. “Geeze! Why do you want me to go with you on that? Aren’t they going to talk politics or something? I don’t think -- given everything -- I’m the best choice for that.”

Glimmer looked to Tallstar who was reading her tablet. “She said Tallstar should go.”

“Pfft! No way! That’s dumb! If Sy-Klone already knows who she is, then who I am should be pretty suspect at the very least! That isn’t going to help.” Tallstar crossed her arms.

Catra glared at her. “So you want to practically hold us at gunpoint with your threat to sic the First Ones on us, but you can’t be bothered to stick your neck out for what you want. Why am I not surprised?”

Tallstar rolled her eyes. “It’s called business sense, Kitty-Cat. Again, nothing personal.”

“Excuse me -- Kitty-Cat?” Catra stood on her chair, “Do you know what it’s gonna be called soon: me kicking your ass your ass if you keep putting my family in danger just to get something you want!” 

“Bet you can’t even get a hit on me.” Tallstar smirked. “Kitty-Cat.”

“I’m going to break that little smirk of yours!” Catra lunged but a flash of sparkles, one that brought Glimmer beside her and another that sent her on the other side of the room from Tallstar kept that from happening. “The heck Glimmer!”

“For the meeting with Sy-Klone, she said only two people could go with her, right?” Glimmer said, getting everyone back on task.

“She was saying that was for the best.” Adora confirmed. “Any more than that, and it might come across wrong.”

“Tallstar gets to go.” Glimmer declared.

“I just said I don’t want to~”

“HEY!” Adora shouted, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “You don’t get to force us to do this for you at the cost of putting ourselves in danger and then shrug your shoulders and say the dangers involved are too much for you and ‘shouldn’t be your problem’. That’s not fair. She’s your sister, isn’t she?”

“If we weren’t busy babysitting you and your friends, girlie, we’d have gotten Starla and left by now.” Tallstar reiterated. “No. We would have done so weeks ago!”

“So your solution is to have an injured woman do the dangerous part while you sit back and whine how it isn’t your problem?” Bow asked very quietly. “I thought this was about getting your sister back safe and sound, wasn’t it? Not about being petty because you don’t like how we do things.” Bow paused, a short deliberate silence. “If this really is just a business transaction for you, what are you giving the Therans in return?” Tallstar’s eyes widened, and then she began to backtrack. “Or are you trying not to have skin in the game and hope they’ll be stupid enough to be endlessly generous?”

“I mean, the doctor said she was fit to travel.” Tallstar defended.  
“She’s only had limited duties since we’ve left Starship Eternia.” Glimmer pointed out. “Why would Tab do that if she was ‘perfectly fine’ huh?”

“Look, the woman’s a Queen. She’s gotta expect some unpleasant business now and then?”

“It isn’t her job to look out for your sister at the cost of her own safety.” Adora refuted. “If anything, she’s doing it because it’s right, so drop the superiority act with us, would you?”

“If she didn’t run off on Kittrina, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into this mess either.”  
“If you didn’t bomb the church, Mal probably wouldn’t be as injured.” Catra threw back.

“The point is,” Glimmer finally spoke up, “we can always find another reason why someone is at fault, and can literally be here all day pointing fingers. Mal isn’t in good health and she’s trying to fix it. What the heck are you doing other than just complaining we aren’t doing things your way?”

Tallstar sighed. “Fuck. Fine, you sentimental brats. I’ll go. Who’s the second?”

“I am.” Glimmer suggested. “That way, if things get dicey, I can teleport us out.” She looked to Adora and Catra, “you guys stay on standby in the area. Sounds like a plan?”

Catra seemed uncertain, but she nodded. “Yeah. It’s a plan.”  
“We should tell her then.” Adora added.

“Tell me what?” Came a call in the distance. They heard her footsteps, more of a shuffle, punctuated with the heavy hit of the crutch. When she was in sight, they all gaped at her: she had switched the dress for a longer red one with a long slit on the side.

“That’s...quite the look...” Catra murmured. Mal chuckled.

“So it’s good right?” Mal asked. “Negotiation is always one part seduction. Being alluring often nets a better success. Unfortunately, I can’t exactly go without some sort of mobility aid, so my crutch is the sore thumb. Too much?”

Glimmer and Tallstar looked at her then at themselves. “More like, we feel too plain.”  
“Mmm, see, I planned for this. Go check your bunks. Percy’s got a good eye at the market.”

“How does he know our sizes?” Tallstar’s eyes twitched.

“He snuck them off of Mog’s notes in your case,” Mal noted to Tallstar then looked at Glimmer and winked, “aaand I may have had him swipe your clothes when you were in the shower and take a quick measure once or twice.” Glimmer looked at her, flushed, and then glared.

“Mal!”

“The appointment is first thing in the morning, so really, now would be a great time to check the fit and make any last minute changes. I’m sure you’ll both clean up quite well. I’ll check in on how things are going in a bit, okay?”

Tallstar and Glimmer exchanged looks before vacating, leaving Mal, Bow, Catra and Adora. As soon as those two were gone, they saw a shift. Mal’s body language became more contained. She slumped, she leaned against the doorway, her expression contorted with pain and she reached down the low cut of her dress making Bow cough awkwardly as he looked away. Adora and Catra soon did too when it became obvious what she was doing as she reached between her breasts and took out a small bottle that rattled.

“Are you alright?” Adora asked. “Is the pain really bad right now?”

“Ever tried changing outfits multiple times in one day without the help of your legs?” Mal smiled wryly. “It’s exhausting.” She laughed breathlessly. “Dresses are easier than pants though.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Bow offered.

“Mind getting me some water?” she asked, her voice raspy. Bow stood and went to do that as he watched Mal pop two pills into her hand and swallow them before sipping at the offered cup.

“You seem to be doing better overall.” Catra started. Mal’s mismatched eyes met hers.  
“I’m terrible, thank you.” Mal laughed self deprecatingly. “But fake it until you make it, right?”  
Catra’s expression soured. “If you’re not feeling up for this~”  
“This is what you want to see.” Mal lingered on those words. “What Tab wants to see, right?”

“I don’t mean to speak for everyone,” Bow cut in gently, “but I think most of all, I think everyone on board just wants you to be okay, not just pretend that you are.”

“Okay.” Mal echoed the word as though she was dazed, “I can do a convincing show of that.”

Bow looked to Adora worriedly. Catra was getting up out of her seat, but Adora put her hand over Catra’s and squeezed it.

“You saw that it was going to be Glimmer and Tallstar, didn’t you?” Adora noted. “With your power. Something is going to happen, isn’t it? That’s why Glimmer is the best choice.”

“Honestly.” Mal sipped her water, “I’d rather not bring Tallstar, but I also would like her to shut up and stop acting like a brat. I know she’s giving Tab grief they don’t deserve.” Mal grit her teeth. “I said I’d sit out, but it’s become quite personal now.”

“Because she planted tracker bugs all over the ship?” Adora sighed.  
Mal arched an eyebrow, “Did she now? Hmmm. Tenacious and arrogant.”  
“You’re plotting something, aren’t you?” Adora concluded.  
“Have you spoken to Entrapta about the bugs yet?”  
“I guess we should.” Adora agreed.  
“Good idea.” Mal smirked.

“Well...even if you’re not feeling the best,” Catra looked at her, “I’m glad to see you out of your room and talking to us.” Mal scoffed at that wordlessly, her gaze growing somber. Bow stared at her and frowned as she placed down the glass.

“Don’t force yourself.” He added quietly. Mal’s eyes fell to the floor.  
“I’m a big girl, you know? I’ll be fine. Always am.”

“Until you aren’t,” Tab’s voice floated over to them. “but the Goddess Lynx knows I’d be carryin’ your limp body and you would still swear you were still fine.” Catra stared at one and then the other and Adora put a hand on Catra’s shoulder. Mal stiffened. From her throat came a strangled, awkward, nervous laugh.

“That’s not really your concern, Captain Manx.” Mal’s smile was hollow as she gestured with her free hand. Tab sighed, stepping into the kitchen, with a long object in hand, wrapped in cloth.

“Take a wire with you tomorrow, at the very least.” Tab grumbled, heading to the fridge. “That way if things get hot, we can jump in.” With their pinky they opened the door of the freezer, plopping their old ice pack in and then taking out a fresh one, sighing when it met their face.

“Don’t you think Sy-Klone might expect that?” Mal poised. “Could walk right into an ambush?”

“I’ll take my chances if it means givin’ you a little insurance.” Tab shifted the new ice pack on their face with a wince. Mal’s eyes flashed with guilt. “I know I’m not gonna talk you out of this, so I won’t bother tryin’, but if you're okay with it, I’ll monitor the situation personally.”

Mal pressed her lips together before relenting. “I’ll take a wire.”  
Tab looked at her for a long time. “Thank you.” Then they paused. “You look beautiful.”  
“On the outside at least.” Both of Mal’s tails coiled around her waist.  
“Inside and out.” Tab defended gruffly. “Always.”  
“I ought to see how those two are making out down there.” Mal suddenly declared.  
“Wait!”

Mal rolled her eyes. “Look, I don’t have it in me to have a talk right now, Tabby.”  
“No! No talk, just,” Tab brought the cloth wrapped bag into view, “take this, please.”

Tab closed the distance between them and everyone in the room tensed. The Captain offered the object in the cloth bag with extended arms being careful not to touch Mal. In turn Mal grabbed it with her free hand, raising a curious eyebrow at the weight of the object at hand.

“This is?”  
“Look at it.” Tab insisted. Mal rolled her eyes again.

Despite her disgruntlement, she yielded to the request. Adora, seeing her struggling to do this with one hand, stood up and offered her chair. Mal sat down, and now with both hands free, pushed the cloth bag aside. Slick, dark, gleaming wood with silver metal work greeted their eyes. It was intricately engraved, with a hint of gold inlay in the grooves. Engraved near the top was the image of a panther-like creature with two tails. The handle too had a subtle pattern made of deep grooves to it that, upon closer inspection had more than just ornate value but added to the grip. Mal looked at it in awe.

“This is…” Mal looked at the cane, then to Tab who gave her the most handsomely devastating smile, “this is rather quite beautiful.” Catra, Adora and Bow all leaned in.

“It’s pretty.” Adora remarked.

“Look at that handiwork! The craftsmanship!” Bow added. “This thing could be a really amazing weapon for how much care has gone into it! Just look at it!”

“What’s that creature near the top?” Catra asked. “Is that a transformed Theran?”

“This is the iconography of the D’Riluth Dynasty. It’s on all of our crests, our rings...” Mal rolled the cane back and forth in her hands, examining the carved form closely. “It’s the Quadruped form of our founder and ancestor, Matilda, a warrior from the ancient town of D’Riluth.” Mal placed the cane between her legs and traced over the carved image with her finger tips. “Better known as Queen Maud.” Mal looked up to Tab. “Tab, I…”

“I figured that might go better with your outfit, but I hoped your legs would be healed up a bit more first.” Tab looked away bashfully. “Royal enough?”

“I’m glad you didn’t pick something tacky and ostentatious.”

Tab snorted. “I was goin’ for ‘Queen of the Therans who has a graceful and subtle style’ not ‘pompous noble idiot who thinks too highly of himself’ like a certain regent we know, thank you.”

“Does his title happen to be ‘Chief’ and his initials ‘CD’?”  
“Look at you, mind reader!”  
“This has to be a custom.” Mal noted. “When did you order this? How much did it cost?”

“It’s rude to tell someone how much you paid for their gift y’know.” Tab brushed off. “Forgive me, but I got your Dad to tell me a little about what the Doctors were sayin’ and…” Tab looked around at Adora, Catra and Bow and stopped, “well, if you ever want to talk about that, you know where to find me.” They bowed their head and shuffled towards the bridge.

“Wait, why is this thing so heavy?” Catra asked.

“It’s a sword, isn’t it?” Mal asked after Tab’s retreating back. Tab froze. Mal took the cane back from Catra and gripped the handle and turned before pulling. Gleaming, silver and dangerously sharp, a blade emerged from the body. “Good weight,” She shooed Bow from her left and took the short blade completely out. As she did, a spring loaded crossguard popped into place. “Nice balance.” Mal quietly slipped the blade back into the shaft of the cane, running her finger down the grooved wood. Tab watched her and swallowed thickly. “You sure know how to pick them.”

“Please stay safe out there.” Tab requested before retreating back to the bridge.

“Thank you, Lovely.” Mal whispered after they left.

*

Kittrina frowned as she looked through the bars. Her mismatched eyes narrowed as she looked at the messy, curly hair of Starla who laid prone on the floor, arms chained behind her back. Kittrina’s lips were pressed together tightly as one of the soldiers came to her.

“Princess Kittrina, is everything okay?”

“I’m fine.” Kitrina frowned when he left, tapping her finger on the bar. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. “You’re a little bit younger than me, aren’t you. Did your sister abandon you?”

“Tallstar would never do that!” Starla shouted as she rolled onto her back. She glared up at Kittrina, and the young Theran shrugged her shoulders.

“Playing Information Broker sure is fun though, isn’t it?” Kittrina asked. “A nice little distraction while you’re here, suffering unfairly.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Starla protested. “Just you wait and see! My sister’s going to find me and you’re going to know just how wrong you were!”

Kittrina scoffed and walked away. She picked her way through the steps, grunting when a young Theran girl bumped into her. This girl was a strange looking one, Kittrina noticed. Dark hair and freckles but a blue-hue to her skin. Kittrina grabbed the child by the wrist and squeezed, watching bright, golden eyes look up at her from a mass of black hair. She scowled at the sight, crushing the wrist in her grip.

“You. Girl. You’re one of the servants here, aren’t you?” The girl looked at her stunned, trying to pull away. When Kittrina tightened her grip, she stopped fighting, her eyes tearing up. “Answer.”

“I-I am.”

“Have the other servants been gossiping lately?”  
“About what, Ma-am?” The girl blinked at Kittrina, seemingly oblivious.

“I heard something about Governor Sy-Klone having a visitor tomorrow morningt, is that true?” The girl turned her head away. Kittrina snarled. “I am Kittrina of House D’Riluth and your future Queen. Answer me and you’ll be rewarded. Defy me and I’ll make sure your pathetic life is even worse.”

“I-I don’t know anything!” The girl cried.  
“You think it’s bad now. How old are you?”  
“F-f-fourteen.”

“Fourteen and already a Lioness. Or rather, due to how kind Sy-Klone is, an Ex-Lioness.” The young girl whined and Kittrina loomed over her. “You haven’t been here long have you? That means he might have bought your debt, but now you owe him.” Kittrina looked down at her disdainfully. “I could make sure Governor Sy-Klone sends you back. This time it would be to a low class Den where they’ll accept patrons even if they barely give any credits. You’ll think this was heaven when I’m done.” The girl whimpered and Kittrina snorted. “What’s your name?”

“I...I don’t have one.”  
Kittrina rolled her eyes. “Your old Den number then.”  
“Lioness Thirteen.”

Kittrina’s displeasure grew. Thirteen? A marker of both when they got her and that there weren’t many Lionesses at her previous establishment. Either it was a very poor establishment or a very rich one that catered to specific and rather disgusting tastes. Given how young she was Kittrina was pretty sure which one it was. Kittrina wrinkled her nose at that thought. Thirteen. That number was as poetic as it was infuriating. She grabbed the girl by the front of her dress and half dragged, half threw her into the nearest wall in the hallway. The girl screamed, and a few heads peaked from doorways, but when Kittrina looked up and they saw those mismatched eyes, they all quietly went back to what they were doing.

“I hate the number thirteen. Do you know why?”  
“I-I’m sorry, Ma’am, I don’t.”  
“Because the thirteenth rune in our magic is ‘Nu’. Do you know why that’s significant?”  
“N-no, your Highness.” The girl stuttered.

“It is the Primary rune of the Usurper’s sigil. De’va D’Riluth.” Kittrina growled, turning the girl’s head. “Well, little Lioness,” Kittrina grumbled, “Sy-Klone is meeting someone. Who?”

“His Lordship, Sy-Klone, h-he,” the young girl blinked, her golden eyes wide, “he invited some mercenaries, or runners. I don’t know. The others say they do odd jobs.”

“What’s their crew name?”  
“I don’t know, on-only that Lady Mau said that she needed to ask them questions.”

Kittrina’s pupils narrowed. “Why would Lady Mau be interested in a bunch of randoms?”  
“One of them, the-the captain went to the market.”  
“Everyone goes to the market.” Kittrina rolled her eyes. “What about it?”

“He, she -- I’m not really sure. They asked for a very specific custom weapon. Specifically from a Theran craftsman with known ties to the churches.” The churches and therefore the Theran resistance. Someone that this person would think was safe. Interesting.

“Seems Lady Mau has spies.” Kitrina found it only too amusing. “Someone made a poor call.”  
“The iconography that they requested on the piece included a twin tailed transformed Theran.”

Kittrina frowned. “Queen Maud?” The girl looked at her blankly. “Of course you’re useless. I can’t expect an ex-Lioness this young to know a shred of Theran history, can I?” The girl shook her head. “Fine, we’ll try this: what was the name of the client who requested the commission?”

“They used an alias.”  
“What was it?”  
“Ellan Vannin.”

Kittrina let the girl go and smiled. She messed up the girl’s hair, and began skipping down the hall as she pulled out her trackpad and hit a button.

“You’ve been most informative! Thank you! I’ll tell Sy-Klone to be kind to you.”  
“What did I do?” The girl asked, clueless.

“Ellan Vannin is not a real Theran name, or rather, not anymore.” She called out. “It’s the ancient name of a village on a peninsula in west Panthera, named after its founder. Today we know that place by the name ‘The Town of Mannin’ formerly, anyways.” Kittrina was giggling. This was perfect, too perfect. “It is the home of the Cymric Clan, of whom the Manx family is part of.”

“The Manx family?”

“Poor miners turned warriors. Mostly insignificant, and probably meaningless to you. For me though, it tells me everything I need to know.” Kittrina crossed her arms. “It was a clever ruse, choosing a name they would find familiar enough to respond to -- if one assumes people don’t know Pantheran history. It’s quite plausible if you weren’t born on our planet. Likely the case if you’re Astra-Theran -- if you’re in space, you likely were born there. The only ones born on Panthera over the last twenty or so years are STILL on Panthera or dead. That bodes true even for Royals.” Kittrina grinned. “Except one small problem: mother taught me our history. I’m not as ignorant as the rest of you space rabble.” Kittrina headed for the outdoors.

Kittrina’s tail coiled around her waist as she pulled out her trackerpad and saw it change her icon to blue. So it seems her Great Uncle was aware now. Aware and heading this way. Good. By this time tomorrow, she thought to herself, part of the nightmare would be over. Chief Carnivus would have what he wanted. Her Aunt De’va would get what she deserved for abandoning her own sister Sunda, and then having the audacity to claim the title that should have been Sunda publicly. This went further than her mother now, Kittrina realized. The crown was stolen not only from her mother, but from Kittrina herself by proxy. Aunt De’va was just the younger sister after all, she had no right declaring herself the Queen of Panthera. Hopefully her Great Uncle would do what he always did -- grow complacent in his success -- and then, with him convinced of his own victory, it would be easy to take everything from him. Kittrina smiled just thinking what his expression of shock would look like.

“Foolish of you, Ancle Tabby. Very foolish, but now I have my mark.” Kittrina hummed, lacing her fingers together, hands behind her back. “If I’m really lucky and play this just right, you’ll all think it’s Sy-Klone who screwed you all over and snipe at him just long enough for Uncle to take what he wants. Maybe he’ll do so without killing you in the process, huh Captain Manx?”

At least, Kittrina hoped for such a thing. Tabby Manx did not deserve her Aunt De’va’s fate.

As far as the young Princess was concerned, her Aunt De’va could choke and die in her own blood giving their Uncle the kittens he wanted so badly. Baby cousins would be no threat to her -- Therans didn’t open their eyes for eight weeks. An entire two months to get rid of their father and a bunch of defenceless kittens, providing the mother conveniently died in childbirth? Or even better, Kittrina’s Great Uncle decided he had what he wanted and got rid of her Aunt De’va out of his own hubris? That seemed a little too easy -- if Chief Carnivus was that arrogant, he wasn’t going to come out of that plot unscathed. Aunt De’va would ensure that.

Those two always played a game of mutually assured destruction and Kittrina had every intention of destroying whatever survived the ashes and taking what she wanted for herself.

*

Teela was the very image of disgruntlement. Her arms? Crossed. Her legs -- also crossed, at the ankle. She leaned against the wall of the elevator, the furthest wall on the opposite end to where he stood. She refused to look at him. Looking off into the corner, her jaw tightly clenched, but when she did finally speak, the words were crisp. Measured.

“Are you sure about this, Adam?”

Adam smiled at her, his smile a little too wide going by how her eyes narrowed. He shrugged her off. Either this would be a discussion where they saw the merits of both views or an argument. He would let Teela decide, but first he had to meet her question.

“I am. Think of it this way, the best way to end all of this is no fighting, right?”  
Teela rubbed her arms. “Right.”

“I don’t want to take the most extreme solution. I’ve already lost my mother because of Horde Prime and we thought Adora was gone. I don’t want grief to take my father as well.”

“Queen Marlena…” Teela sighed, “Have you asked for De’va’s opinion or Magus Angora’s?”

“De’va’s opinion doesn’t matter here. This is a family matter.” Adam insisted.  
“You know, for years you insisted De’va was family.” Teela didn’t like this, how Adam scowled.

“A hole was left in my father’s heart when we lost both my mother and Adora. One of those two have come back. It might not fix everything, but an Eternia that is no longer conquesting, and willing to sack someone like Chief Carnivus and leave De’va in charge is good enough for me.”

“But is it good enough for De’va?” Teela asked, then shook her head at his glare. “Nevermind.”

“I have no right to say what’s good enough for Queen De’va,” Teela’s eyes narrowed as the formal address, “but at the same time, I have no right to be asking her either.”

“The three of us are friends, aren’t we?” She asked. Adam was silent. “Aren’t we?” She echoed.

“I don’t think my friendship with Queen De’va is healthy for her anymore, so I ended it between us for her own good.” Was all he would offer. Teela stared at him in wide eyed surprise.

“What did you do?” Teela whispered. “Adam?”  
“I don’t want to talk about it. Just know that I finally realized I never understood her at all.”  
“Did you...hurt her?”  
Adam shifted, shooting a dirty look to Teela. “Why would you ask that?”  
“Tell me what happened Adam!” Teela grabbed his forearm, tugging it to try and get his gaze.  
“It’s not your business Teela.”

“Did you yell at her? She does get pretty jumpy sometimes.” Teela tried to parse out.  
“It’s between me and the Queen of Panthera.”

“Look, Adam, I’ve known you since you were a kid, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you bottle things. You push it down until you can’t and I get that you don’t want to talk about it, but then that only leads me to assume the worse happened.”

Adam’s nostrils flared. He glared at her as the elevator came to a halt. “Like what?”

“I don’t want to believe you would, but your refusal to talk about it makes me think you did something unthinkable.” Teela’s green eyes were wide. “I know how you feel about her, and her boundaries have never been the clearest, but I also think...” Teela was slowly drawing away from him. “She would be afraid of making you angrier and said what you wanted to hear.” 

Adam felt the blood drain from his face. He tripped over his own feet as he stumbled out of the elevator. He looked at Teela deeply and saw a mixture of disappointment and even fear on her own face -- after all, she was alone with him now after assuming he had…

“I didn’t take advantage of her.” He murmured lowly.  
“Adam...be honest with yourself and me about the situation.”

“Teela,” he looked up and caught her eyes, “she threw herself at me. Groped me. Molested me even. Granted she was probably high, but she crossed a line and I wasn’t okay with it. I felt betrayed, furious that she would even try something like that and I made sure she knew it.”

Teela shook her head, her green eyes rhumy. “In some ways that makes it worse.”

“I know how that sounds without full context,” Adam defended, realizing the slowly growing look on Teela’s face was one of horror, “but I swear, it didn’t go past that. We got into a big fight.”

“Then what happened?”

Adam bowed his head, his pony tail fell in front of his shoulder. “I used to think I was too good of a man for De’va to lump me in with Eternians who visit the Dens or Chief Carnivus, but the way she looked at me when I screamed at her? All her eyes could see was a threat. No, she saw me as the threat. The look in her eyes was the same way she looked at her uncle. I can’t stand knowing that all these years I thought we were close, but really she held so much fear of me.”

“Adam…” Teela sounded apologetic.  
“It’s done Teela. Let it go.”

He offered his hand to Teela. She took it, unsure what to feel with the sudden news he gave her. Teela flushed when he pressed a kiss to her cheek. They walked hand in hand, though Teela seemed agitated, skittish. A Falcon’s cry got her attention, and she looked about, frowning.

“So the Sorceress is here too.” Teela murmured.  
“Seems like.”

“Tell me you won’t regret this, Adam.” Teela found herself searching for the words. “That you’re not doing this out of spite or because you’re reeling at the fact that part of her might have always questioned the nature of your intentions.” She looked at him. “Please?”

“I assure you that my intentions aren’t coming from anger.” Adam promised. “Everything will work out. Adora will be back home like she belongs, De’va will be able to lead her Kingdom to a new leadership and then step down as Queen like she wants. Everyone wins.”

Teela wanted to believe that would be the case. Desperately. She prayed it would be.

*

Maybe Captain Tabby Manx was a bit of a hopeless romantic?

There was nothing to do during the night shift on the ship when they were planet side. Nothing but to keep an eye out for trouble. So Tabby played music as loudly as they could get away with to keep themself awake, always checking that the sound didn’t reach past the kitchen. The captain stood up and walked around every hour, taking laps around the tiny bridge in time to whatever track was playing. Today’s pick? A soundtrack from a Theran play from about twenty years ago or so. One of the final plays to put on before their people had to flee from the Horde. It had several beautiful, yet haunting melodies of piano, violin and cello by one of Mal’s favourite composers. It was the first and only play Mal had ever seen from a Theran theatre.

It wasn’t meant to be self punishing. The issue with Mal was growing into one that seemed increasingly unstable and unsalvageable as time passed, and it wounded Tab’s heart in ways they didn’t have words for. A moment like this, where they could listen to something like music and think fondly of their estranged wife -- what she was like without the pressure of being Queen, simply smiling -- did bring a smile to the captain’s face. A smile that turned a bit smarmy as they remembered the last time they heard this music. Their shared bedroom. The lights left low, the two of them skin to skin. Tab felt their cheeks burn, flushed at the reminder. They brought their wrist to their nose where Mal’s collar was kept and took a sniff.

Nothing. Just their own scent greeted them. It was finally gone. Almost like Mal seemed to be. That...was depressing. They haven't exchanged clothes with Mal in weeks now. Tab sighed after completing their newest lap around the bridge, flopping into the pilot’s chair, pulling their jacket around them tighter, covering their face with their arm, breath hitching with the threat of tears.

That’s when Tab heard it. Footsteps. One much lighter than the other. A completely uneven gait. The tap of something that wasn’t a foot at all.

“Stop skulkin’ around.” Tab called out. They didn’t need to guess who it was. Mal’s gait was unique on the ship and it always gave her away. There was no response, but Tab knew she was still there. “Did the music catch you off guard? Usually you move a lil more quietly and I pretend I don’t notice, but today you paused for nearly five minutes. Was it to listen to the music?”

“How long did you know I was going into your room?” Finally came her raspy voice in response.

“Always.” Tab snorted. “You forget we’re Theran or somethin’? I can smell you were in OUR room, silly, and I would know your footsteps anywhere -- crutch, cane or none.” Tab huffed, staring out into the night sky, “besides, you have your stuff there. I figured I’d leave y’alone to let y’get whatever y’needed. Are you takin’ all of it out, bit by bit?”

There was a pause. A hesitation. “No.”  
“I thought we were done?” Tab asked airly. Mal inhaled sharply.  
“I don’t want us to be.” Her voice was so quiet, mournful. “Honest.”  
“Yeah? Been sendin’ real mixed signals.” Tab scoffed, putting their hands behind their head.  
“I feel like I don’t know what else to do.” Came Mal’s wooden voice. Tab frowned.  
“Maybe stop and accept help for once? Ooh. Scary.” Tab mocked.  
“What if…” Mal trailed off, “I’m just not the sort who can be vulnerable?”

Tab snorted loudly. “What calloused dumbass put that shit in your head?” Tab could have sworn Mal flinched. “You’ve seen shit, Grima. The sort that stays with you. Being vulnerable about that doesn’t come easy, and it can’t happen if you don’t feel safe. Forcin’ someone to open up isn’t how anyone works, but especially you, y’know? You shut down. Close yourself off somewhere in your head. Turn destructive. You do shit like, well, all the shit you’ve been doin’ lately.” Tab sighed. “Anyone who believes pressurin’ you to give them what they want is an asshole. I know I’ve been pesterin’ you lately. I want you to be aware of how unwell you are -- but I honestly don’t expect you to come around until you’re ready to.”

“Really?” It was a breath of awe, wonderment and fear. Then those uneven steps sounded and -- as Tab suspected, her crutch. She came from around the corner and leaned in the doorway. Tab nodded confirming their words as true. “Why do you always have it so chilly on the bridge? Goddess, Tabby, it’s freezing. Anwat-Gar gets pretty damp and cool at night, but I swear -- do you have the AC on or something?” Mal rubbed her arm for warmth.

“Yeah. Helps me stay alert durin’ my shift. Helpful when I haven’t been sleepin’ well.”  
“Ah.” A pause. “Well, it’s nice to see less liquor bottles around here. I was getting worried.”  
“You certainly aren’t usin’ less pills though.”

The silence turned awkward. Mal’s face scrunched. Tab heard Mal hold her breath but said nothing to their estranged wife for quite some time, giving her a chance to speak first. Perhaps that barb was too pointed, but Mal opened with one of her own. Tit for tat was how they operated sometimes when they were at their worst. Perhaps you had to remove all the smoke and mirrors bit by bit until everything was stripped raw. Then the healing could begin.

“Well that’s because I’m still in lots of pain.”  
“I know you weren’t cleared for travel. Your Dad let that out of the bag two weeks ago.”  
“What’s so special about two weeks ago?”

Tab looked at her. Really looked at her for some sign that this was a dumb joke or her being annoyingly defensive. No. The look on her face was blank, unaware. Tab shivered as they turned around. Mal didn’t remember, not one bit. Maybe that was for the best, but Tab couldn’t shake the image themself of a passed out, barely breathing, feverish Mal on the floor. Tab’s lips pressed together. They decided to say nothing. Mal’s gaze became guarded.

“Nevermind Tab, it’s clear you don’t want to tell me.” A sardonic, bitter laugh. “I guess I’m caught then, huh?” There was movement, then Mal was at the copilot’s chair, still standing, but leaning against the back of it for support. “I probably needed another couple of weeks laid out.”

“If you didn’t insist on pushin’, you could probably use less pills.” Tab pointed out gently. “You're practically manufacturin’ your own pain at this point, or at least, makin’ it much worse.”

“What do you know? You don’t know how much pain I’m in.” Tab opened their mouth to argue with her, but then took a good look at Mal. Her eyes? Dilated. There was no point.

“No. No I don’t Grima.” Tab sighed, backing off for now. “It's nice just to have mostly civil conversations with you after all this time.” Tab changed gears. “I miss you.” Surprisingly, and thankfully, that diffused all anger Mal had.

“Mmm.” Mal sighed, reaching into her pocket, taking out what seemed to be a thick, heavy but slim metal case. “I miss you too, Tabby. Here.”

“What’s this?”

“A small thank you for the beautiful cane. It’s been a while since we’ve been planet side this long. I figured you probably were wanting to sample some of the local cigars, so I asked Percival to run out and get some for you.” Mal explained softly. Tab opened the metal case -- it was their cigar case actually. They wondered where it went -- and took a whiff of the contents inside. Smokey and salty with chocolate notes. Mal knew them well.

“Thank you.” Tab covered her hand with their own, then looked at their own wrist where Mal’s collar resided. Mal followed the gaze. “You know, if you’d like?”

Mal dipped her head. “No. I haven’t earned it yet.”  
“Isn’t that for me to decide?” Tab asked. “If you weren’t bein’ stubborn I’d given it back already.”  
“I’m…” her head dropped as she murmured, “not good enough for it.”

“It’s never been about bein’ ‘good enough’. You are you. That’s enough.” Tab felt themselves getting agitated and they snorted. “Why am I even botherin’? You’re probably too high to even remember I said this tomorrow.”

“Like you weren’t in a drunken stupor hours ago?” Came a hiss.

“Buzzed at dinner, but thanks. I’ve been workin’ on it.” Tab levelled a look at her. “Can’t go wastin’ the crew’s funds on drinks with the kid and her friends on board to keep fed now. My personal account got low. Understandably. So I have no choice but to slow it down.”

“Are you saying you’re better than me because you can put your responsibilities first?”  
“Well you did ditch part way through a job again. Apparently you were ill?”

Mal flinched back as if burnt. “If I’m such a liability to you,” Her hands closed around the cigar case tightly, her eyes grew flinty as she glared. “Then get rid of me.”

“That’s not how that works, Grimalkin and you damn well know it. I don’t give up on my family, and I sure as hell won’t give up on my wife when all she’s doin’ is pretendin’ none of her actin’ out isn’t a massive cry -- no -- more like blood curdlin’ scream for help.” Tab was calm as they looked her over. “Lynx. You’re shiverin’. Cold? Here.” Tab left their seat and slowly approached what they realized was an incredibly skittish Mal. They unzipped their jacket slowly, watching her wide eyed stare as she stumbled back a couple of steps. “Here. I’m just givin’ you my jacket. That’s all, okay?” Tab informed softly. Then, just as slowly, Tab eased the jacket on Mal’s shoulders, being careful not to touch her as they did so. Despite it, the action brought them so close that Tab could see how unfocused Mal’s gaze was and Mal, going by how her nose scrunched, could tell Tab had a drink not too long ago, it was just one, but still. 

“We’re fuckin’ disasters, aren’t we?”

They both laughed despite it, and when the laughter quelled, they were left there, standing, staring at each other. Mal tilted her head back to catch Tab’s gaze. Tab saw Mal’s eyes fall to their lips. Watched her bite her own lip. Against better judgement, Tab moved closer. She didn’t pull back but Tab could see something uncertain in her gaze.

“Can I…?” Tab asked softly. Mal nodded, and Tab stepped into Mal’s personal space. Let their hand rest gently at her hip. Mal raised her hand, then let it rest by Tab’s collar and they smiled. She bit her lip again and Tab leaned forward. They were close enough to feel Mal’s breath against their own lips. Mal suddenly raised both hands to Tab’s chest and shoved. There wasn’t much strength behind it. Only enough for Tab to stumble back a step or two, but Tab got the message. Mal put another two steps between them, almost losing her balance, her shoulders hiking, her tails stiff. She was gasping for air desperately as if it couldn’t enter her lungs quickly enough.

“Grima, breath, just breathe.” Tab pleaded, “Follow me, like this. Inhale, and exhale. There.”

“My…” Mal gulped down air, “leg really hurts, sorry.” She mumbled, slipping her arms through the oversized sleeves of the jacket. She was shaking. Tab knew it wasn’t from the cold.

“You don’t have to apologize.”  
“But you wanted to…”  
“And you didn’t.” Tab informed. “So I stopped.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“It’s nothin’ to apologize for.” Tab reassured.

“It’s not fair though.” She wasn’t making sense. “I should have just given you that, ah, after everything considering…” Mal was practically babbling. Tab shook their head.

“Me being patient with you as you act out doesn’t mean I have any right over your body.” Tab reminded, frowning at how Mal flinched at the very frank address of the matter. “You do understand that? No matter how upset I am, if you say stop, I will.” 

“Right, um, mind if I ah…” Mal licked her lips, “sit here for awhile? With you?”

Well, it wasn’t a kiss, but it was a start. Tab nodded and Mal pulled away, situating herself into the copilot chair. She put the cigar packet in the breast pocket, pulling the collar of the jacket high, and inhaling deeply. Tab could tell right away that Mal was more relaxed. Despite how ornery she was, the fact that she missed the simple comfort of being close to Tab was clear.

“Mal.” Tab settled into the pilot chair. “What must I do to make this work, make us work again?”  
“It’s not about what you need to do, it’s about what you need.” Mal explained cryptically.  
“I need you to stop actin’ like you’re some kind of monster who needs to be punished.”

“That’s a want, Tabby. You want me to stop being stupid, which I will -- once I know what I can do for you for once. How can I actually be a wife to you? How can I be useful to you?” Mal insisted. Tab was quiet for a moment, processing it. Then shook their head as it clicked.

“How does bein’ an ass help you be a wife?” Mal huffed, her eyes fluttering close as she almost disappeared into the jacket. “Your behaviour is on you, though, honest, I’m beginnin’ to think it’s your trauma too -- but I can’t do jack unless you tell me who messed with you and how.”

“Nothing happened.” Mal’s voice deadened. “No one did anything.”

“I haven’t seen you this bad in years, Mal.” Tab informed. “You don’t go to that place easily, so that suggests someone who knows you made a terrible call, and I suspect that certain person isn’t on my boat.” Tab sighed when Mal held her breath. “Anyways...that’s neither here nor there.” Despite the tense atmosphere, Tab smiled. “Let’s enjoy the stars, okay?”

“I need to know,” Mal sounded sleepy, “what you need.” A large yawn interrupted her chain of thought before she uttered. “Our marriage can’t always be about me.”

“It’s not. It’s about us.”  
“But you’re always doing everything.” Mal was practically whispering.

“You do plenty. You fix my hair for me. You let me know I’m valid as I am. You handle the accountin’ and supply management most of the time because you know I hate that stuff. You always pick out the veggies I hate when Tom forgets to leave them out of my food. When I get a lil too serious, you’re usually ribbin’ me with a joke.”

“That’s not good enough.” Mal’s voice was fading. “I don’t want to be…”  
“Go to sleep, dummy, you’re exhausted.” Tab looked at her, bemused.

Mal had fallen asleep shortly after. It was inevitable -- it was late at night, she had an early morning and she hadn’t been relaxed enough to sleep properly in ages. Tab was only too happy, after their fight yesterday to see this wonderfully peaceful sight. They sighed, shaking their head. After some time had passed, they had picked up Mal in their arms and rather than going to the crew quarters, took her to their room.

They took her boots off, and hesitated about her prosthetic before deciding the two of them weren’t on good enough terms for Mal to be comfortable with that right now. Tab frowned. It was only going to leave Mal’s leg sore later. Tab worried she would get blisters even. However, the potential risk of Mal’s mental health deteriorating even more upon discovering she was undressed while unconscious had Tab feeling like they were picking the lesser of two evils.

As they tucked Mal in, they saw it. The pill bottle rolled away, and they took it. Tab hesitated for a moment before tucking it away in their pocket and returning to the bridge. There, they opened the hidden compartment in the pilot’s chair and put the pill bottle with three others they had there.

“I know it’s wrong but…” Tab sighed, covering their face, “You need to take care of yourself, not ignore what your body needs.” Tab shook their head. “I really am a damn hypocrite.” Tab rubbed one of their shoulders, relieved not to find raised, welted skin there. “But...I can be fine with Grima by my side. I just hope she doesn’t blow a gasket when she finds out.”

Tab sighed as they looked at the picture by one of the gauges. It was taken in the bridge of them and Mal together. Mal was sitting on Tab’s lap, her finger tapping Tab’s nose with the most playful smile on her lips ever. Tab hasn’t seen that smile in months now.

“Adam...what the fuck did you do? It was bad enough without you stickin’ your nose in, but of course you had to make it worse. Bastard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I often think when a relationship has a breakdown the only way it moves forward is if someone decides regardless of whether they were "more" in the right, to extend an olive branch and say "I'm willing to try again, but these are my boundaries." Both Tab and Mal are showing signs of doing this. Tab with the cane and Mal with the cigars, but Mal's put an interesting term on it: she needs to feel like their relationship is equal, that she is equally contributing. I think when there is a huge societal power differential between partners it can be easy to slip into certain power dynamics without realizing it, and Mal's lately been forced to be hyper aware and is afraid if she isn't contributing "similarly" that it's unfair to Tab...forgetting that Tab gets to say at the end of day what is "fair" for them or not. From Tab's perspective, they're getting enough. They think the acts of service Mal does give as an expression of her love and they're content with it (they very much are acts of service oriented in their love language, and so they see what Mal does as enough, yet Mal doesn't feel the same...probably because of an incongruence there.)
> 
> Mal's little comment of this being "what everyone wanted" -- her being more civil and acting better is an echo back to last chapter's conversation with Adora, the fact that she feels "Mal" and "De'va" aren't really her but performances. She's still in a very defensive type of mindset where she hopes the "right" performance will make everyone happy with her again not fully able to accept or comprehend that what they want, most of all, is for Mal to be well.
> 
> I love little quiet Catradora support between the two. They're just trying so hard to stan each other. Adora giving Catra emotional support. Catra complimenting Adora for seemingly getting through to Mal.
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “Beautiful.” De’va’s lips trembled. “Your eyes.” She complimented, blinking slowly. “Teal blue.”  
> “Thank you.” Tab cleared their mind just to focus and listen to the young woman.  
> “I think,” she paused, touching her lips, “they’re my favourite colour.”


	28. "I think they're my favourite colour."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra is caught between wanting to put all of her cards on the table with Adora and fearing that she may just get shot down.  
> Tab is left at a loss when Mal pushes them away in a time of need and reminisces on the first words Mal ever said to them.  
> Tallstar ditches Glimmer and Mal when she spots a sign of Kittrina in the hopes that she'll be able to save Starla herself.  
> Glimmer and Mal find negotiation with Sy-Klone to be a dangerous tightrope walk between showing caution and trust.  
> Kittrina taunts Adora and Catra with all of the answers Mal would never give. Too bad she's only doing it to buy time.  
> Adam tries to talk reason into his father, King Randor regarding how Eternia operates and learns a terrible secret.  
> Chief Carnivus decides to step onto the field himself. His first order of business: to take what he thinks is his

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay folks! It's been a challenging couple of weeks personally. Anyways, strap in:
> 
> Another flashback into early Mal/Tab or rather pre-relationship them. I rather like this one. I think it's rather...I don't know, sweet. 
> 
> As always, your likes and comments are super appreciated and do motivate me so I'm always happy to hear from you all and do respond to all of your comments!
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Hey Adora,

Can I ask you something?

Why did you and Glimmer go looking for me in the first place? Why didn’t you just forget about me? What was the point in finding me? I’m not ungrateful, don’t get me wrong, but you have Etheria. For a moment, just briefly, when I was settling in here I thought about it. Just staying with Purrsia and its crew. With Tab and the others.

Did you ever feel that way?

Catra

*

Eleven years ago…

Devon had a streak of grey in his dark locks. How dark his hair was only made it stand out even more. He wasn’t old. He was what? The same age as Lybica since he was from the same litter. Tab began doing the math in their head. Princess De’va just had her birthday. A very late birthday, mere weeks from the end of the year. Tab had recently found out they were about two years younger than they had assumed. That made them about seven years older than the Princess? So with the new year freshly arrived and their early birthday -- or rather what Tab considered their birthday: the day they were freed from the Horde labs -- they were almost...twenty-six? By the Grace of Lynx, had they really left the labs over fifteen years ago?

Anyways, with the Princess’ late birthday and Tab’s early birthday, that meant the Princess just turned eighteen. There was roughly eighteen years between the youngest Princess of Panthera and her eldest siblings making Devon thirty-six going on thirty-seven in two months. Thirty-six and sporting a vivid stripe of grey. Tab hoped it was stress and not a sign of his overall health.

“Something on my face?” He asked when he caught Tab staring.  
“No sir.” They snapped a quick salute, watching him scratch the scar on the bridge of his nose.

“You need to stop being so stiff, my dear man.” Devon sighed. Tab flinched. “I told you not to call me ‘sir’ or ‘Prince’ several times. I don’t give one shit that you’re a commoner, Tab.”

Tab blinked. “T-Tab?”

“If you don’t mind me calling you that. Tabby is cute and definitely your name, but it feels like it’s something meant to be private. Tab seems more -- everyday. It’s ‘fierce’ and very you.” 

“Nobody's ever called me that before.” Tab blinked.  
“Um...well, I don’t have to, if you’re not comfortable, I just thought maybe…”  
“It’s fine...sir. I mean Prince.” Tab winced. “Devon.”  
“Devon is my father.” He grumbled. It was a knee jerk reaction.  
“Von?”  
“There we go!” He slapped them on the back. “Doesn’t that feel better?”  
“I guess.” Tab watched him scratch his scar again. Definitely a nervous tic. “Tab...”

“Aw damn. It’s an awful nickname, isn’t it?”  
“No, I think I quite like it.” Tab paused. “Um…”  
“Thank Lynx for that, my dear man.” Tab made a face at him. “What is it?”  
“Can you not…” Tab pursed their lips, “call me that?”  
“You mean ‘man’?” Tab tried not to sputter. The Prince was perceptive. Uncomfortably so.  
“Yes. That.”

Devon grinned. “I had a feeling.” He admitted, “Growing out your hair? Looks pretty.” Tab winced. He scratched his nose. “Then is ‘My Lady’ better?”

Tab almost gagged. “No thanks. Look, I know I’m a little unconventional. I can explain~”

“Pardon the seeming invasion of privacy, but I requested your transfer specifically because I knew about your little ‘controversy’ with your former unit, so to speak.”

Tab gawked. “You...did, sir -- Von?”

“You never disclosed, but after an injury in the field some things turned up. Your attending doctor wasn’t tactful and unwisely speculated. Then they told your CO. That whole debacle of ‘treatments’ came up and you refused, right?”

“I think it’s more accurate to say I told my CO to ‘fuck right off’, sir.” Tab looked away from him.  
“That sounds just like you!” Devon chuckled, “Now the insubordination claim makes sense.”  
“They made me feel more like a project than a person.” Tab admitted. “I hate surgeries.”

“You’re one of the infamous Horde Orphans. Your CO was a fool to be discriminating and attempting a wrongful dismissal. It got flagged. Landed right on my mother’s desk.”

“It did?” Tab looked at him, wide eyed, “So I caught the Queen’s eye? Yikes! What did she do?”

“Sacked them both. The Doctor for breaking privacy laws and the CO for gross misconduct. None of the findings suggested you were unfit, so it should have ended there. Mother was quite displeased.” Devon shook his head. “I didn’t want to bring it up because I felt it wasn’t my place. Glad you felt comfortable enough to finally say something. So. You’re “just Tab”, works for me.”

“Are you sure, sir?” Tab asked softly. “I’m...not in trouble with you, am I?”

“Of course not! You’re my ace in the hole!” He gave a devilish grin.  
“Your ace?” Tab blinked. “For what?”

“My little sister.” He said, suddenly switching the topic, his arm looping around Tab’s shoulders. The youngest Theran Princess, De’va. She was undergoing physio, but it seemed pretty dead ended for months. Until more recently when she finally took her first steps a few weeks ago. Tab wasn’t sure what changed but the Princess seemed far more motivated and was making tremendous headway. “I know you're my Major and my XO. Your job is to manage my troops with me and I feel bad, almost like I’m putting you on bodyguard duty. Dull, I know, but you’re my good luck charm when it comes to this. When it comes to her.” Devon smiled.

“What do you mean, Si-- V-Von?”

Devon’s expression became drawn. “Well, we worried she would remain catatonic. Then you sat with her and read stories and she started showing awareness. Then we worried she would starve herself to death. One day you sat with her and ordered food and she actually took a bite! Now she can’t stop eating and is starting to gain some healthy weight!” He laughed at that one, and Tab found themselves smiling a touch. He made it sound so noble -- the truth was a little more manipulative than that. They had heard the Princess’ stomach growl loudly and figured eating in front of her might convince her. “When she refused to get out of bed after she got fitted for her new leg, you sat with her for a while and now she’s taken her first steps! She might even be able to run someday! See where I’m going with this, Tab?”

Tab felt a nervous chill down their spine. “You think I can get her talkin’ again? Really?”

“The doctors say there’s no physiological reason, so it’s all because of, well, you know.” Devon tapped his temple, “I don’t know what it is that you do, but you seem to reach her in ways that no one else manages. Not even Adam gets her talking and he and her are close enough that he gets more responsiveness from her than most people do. It’s amazing, whatever it is you do.”

Tab flushed at that realization, their skin heating, warm to the touch. They fixed the collar of their uniform. Devon chuckled at that, giving the soldier’s shoulder a squeeze.

“At least tell me your secrets!”  
“I just read with her and…” Tab looked at him blankly. “I don’t expect anythin’.”  
He blinked, expression now blank with confusion. “Huh?”

“She’s been through hell.” Tab expanded, “You’re expectin’ her to bounce back but she may never. Not completely.” Tab watched Devon’s face change with a glow of frustration. “She can probably feel your expectations. You just want her to be your innocent kid sister again.”

“No one stays innocent forever. I know De’va’s a woman now.” Devon claimed.  
“Maybe in your head? Last time you saw her before this she was about thirteen.”  
“I just want her to have what was stolen from her.”  
“It won’t come back. It can’t.” It was short, sweet, brusque.  
“It’s not fair!”  
“It ain’t, but it’s her reality.” Tab sighed shakily.  
“She deserved to be a kid a little longer. No one should ever be forced to grow up like that.”

“Maybe it ain’t your intention, but you’re pressurin’ her to be the ‘De’va’ you knew.” Devon’s tail stiffened. Tab noticed his agitation hovering in the air. “She knows she’s changed. Probably scared she’ll disappoint you once you finally accept it. Must be intimidatin’ -- considerin’ she seems rather skittish around males.” A pause. “Especially angry ones.” 

“I’m not going to get angry at my little sister!” Devon growled. “I know it is hardly her fault!”

“You’ll get frustrated. Look right now!” Tab countered, “your frustration is indistinguishable from anger to her. Von, you’re a male makin’ demands. She was trapped in an environment where disappointin’ demands led to pain. Add it the fuck up, will you?” Tab paused, biting their lip.

Devon’s nostrils flared. “The hell? She doesn’t have this problem with Adam! I’m her brother!”  
“You’re not stupid.” Tab growled. “Adam NEVER raises his voice near her. That’s the difference.”  
“It’s just…” Devon sighed. “I feel helpless. It makes me angry that someone did this.”  
“She picks up on that then, and sees herself as the target. You need to stop that.”  
“You’re right…” Devon put his hand to his head, sighing.  
“Y’know?” Tab added very gently. “She’s very lucky.”  
“Excuse me?” He hissed.

“She’s alive.” Tab pointed out cooly. “She has a loving brother who has put his entire military and political career on hold to take care of her. Friends who will visit her every day, even if she never responds to them. This also happened to her at an age where she was old enough to clearly remember what ‘normal’ can look like.” Tab saw Devon’s lips curl into a snarl. 

“You watch your mouth!” He warned. Tab chose to ignore him. 

“For those too young to remember what ‘normal’ looks like, adjustin’ means havin’ to learn what ‘livin’ is.” Devon’s snarl fell. He backed up, shame marking his face. “Not everyone is fortunate to get somewhere that gives them much needed structure. I’m also lucky. Lybica saved us. Panthera was SO proud and could only talk about supportin’ the “Horde Orphans” then, when we were no longer the hot topic, we were dropped. Some of us got adopted to good families. They gave the love needed. Ones like me ended up in a place like the military and pulled ourselves together. Others fell through the cracks. They’re on the streets, strung out.”

“Sorry, I…I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

“Numbin’ is normal.” Tab explained. “It’s survival. You shut down, y’become barely a person. I’m still quite numb myself. It’s why I’m brusque. I don’t understand how to be tactful about this, so I apologize for offendin’ you, Von.” Tab shook their head. “You still want me to sit with her today?”

“Yes. Please.” He spoke thickly, thrown off by the barrage of reality. “Thank you.”

The Princess was sitting up on her bed, biting down on the middle finger of her right hand -- or rather what was left of it. Her eyes were set on the stars. Not surprising for her, to be honest, and Tab thought it a little unclouth to offer a small gift, but with her brother’s blessing, here they were. They handed a small book to Princess De’va, and she looked up questioningly with those terrifyingly blank eyes. There was an exhaustion there for once, a welcome surprise.

“It’s a guide to the constellations for the galaxy we’re currently in, Your Highness. I notice y’keep lookin’ at the stars. We’re very far from home.” A nod was all Tab got in response. She opened the book and began flipping through it and Tab eased themselves into the chair beside the bed, pulling out a novel they had been reading -- nothing special. Just some Eternian legends they were brushing up on since they were spending so much time around the people.

Tab said nothing then, letting the Princess flip through the book before looking out the window and to keep repeating this several times until she settled on a page, and then held it up -- something Tab caught in their periphery. They closed their own book around a finger and looked at the page the young woman was on. “Yes. I think you’re right. Those stars do look like the constellation of Arteus.”

Tab noticed the Princess reach for paper. In typical fashion she reached with her right hand first, then threw the pen in frustration when predictably, her right hand couldn’t hold it properly. Tab picked up the pen calmly and handed it back to her, watched her switch to her left hand and with concerted effort write one single word that was barely legible.

Why?

“Why am I here, y’mean?” Tab asked. Princess De’va nodded. “Well, your brother, Crown Prince Devon asked me. He says y’seem to get better when we hang out.” Tab admitted flatly. “He is my superior officer so I follow his orders.” That led to a long time of writing but there were only two words in a very crooked, messy scrawl when she was done.

Go away!!!

“If y’really want me gone? Sure.” Tab stood up and began heading for the door, chuckling when they were hit in the head with the notepad. They turned around to face the Princess who glared. “Thought you wanted me to go?” She shook her head. “Changed your mind?” Another shake of the head, then, “Is it because I said your brother told me to do this?” A nod. “Well, I’ll have you know, I’m his XO. If I really didn’t want to, I could always assign one of our soldiers.” Tab picked up the notepad and returned to the chair. “I’ve been tellin’ him some things can’t be rushed.” They offered De’va the notepad back and she took it. “You’ll do it in your own time. But I guess part of me is a little curious now, you know?”

Princess De’va tilted her head in askance.

“What is it about me that seems to inspire you to take your next step forward, Princess De’va?”

Five minutes? Ten? The Princess tried to write it out with a hand she never used to write with until now. Eventually after tearing out the fifth or six page from her pad, Tab took pity on her.

“You don’t have to tell me right now. It’s alright. Tell me when you’re ready.” Tab opened the book closed around their finger and returned to reading it, letting the Princess compose herself, ignoring the young woman as she put her face in her hands, taking shuddering breaths.

“Your...eyes.” came a croaky, whispered voice.  
Tab looked up, startled. “My eyes?” They echoed, unsure they imagined her voice.

“They’re,” She paused, swallowing, her voice weak. “Sad.” The Princess continued slow and ploddingly, “Like you’ve seen...” De’va wrestled with the words. “seen something terrible. Terrible things.” Tab almost forgot to breathe. She was actually talking. Good Lynx.

“I’d be lyin’ to you if I said I haven’t.” Tab gave a smile, hoping it would be encouraging.

“No one else here has...has eyes like that.” The Princess took a pause and reached towards Tab’s hand. They clasped her hand in both of theirs and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Eyes like what?” Tab prompted gently, nodding when the Princess managed to speak more.

“Like the Lionesses.” A pause. “Like mine.” Princess De’va made a face. “Broken.” Tab felt their ears burn. “But,” Another pause. “There’s light in yours.” Her face crumpled. Her breath hitched. “I-I don’t have,” she took a shuddering breath “I don’t f-feel,” then another, “an-anything!”

“Shh. It’s okay.” Tab quietly got up from their chair and sat on the edge of the bed but dared not move closer. “Not yet,” Tab told her softly squeezing her hand tightly, “but I think one day you could again. You just have to keep movin’ at your own pace.” Princess De’va’s empty eyes landed on Tab. There was an unasked question. Curiosity. Tab noticed. It was a subtle but wonderful sign. “No. It wasn’t the Dens. I can only imagine how horrible that was.” Tab shook their head. “It was the Horde Labs. Your big sister saved me, actually.”

“L-Lybica?” Hope. Dim, but there. It was beautiful.  
“Lybica the Liberator.” Tab hummed, “No one’s heard from her since she left to find Halfmoon.”  
“Sissy is still gone?” Disappointment flashed briefly in her gaze. Even this was a pretty sight.

Princess De’va went silent for several minutes. Tab wrestled with themselves. Did they tell Devon later today? Risk the Prince wanting to see his sister’s recovery so badly he would demand she speak to him? Have his impatience and frustration undo his sister’s progress? Or did Tab just keep this between them, let De’va choose who she would speak to next and when? Devon would be crossed when he found out, but Tab already knew their answer, deep down. 

“Beautiful.” De’va’s lips trembled. “Your eyes.” She complimented, blinking slowly. “Teal blue.”  
“Thank you.” Tab cleared their mind just to focus and listen to the young woman.  
“I think,” she paused, touching her lips, “they’re my favourite colour.”

*

Tallstar saw it. A flicker between buildings, clear in this bright morning light. Golden feathers. A white face. A quiet hoot. The others didn’t notice it, but she did. She would know her sister’s beloved pet anywhere. As they headed towards the steps leading to the Embassy, she weighed and debated, paying only partial attention to the conversation beside her.

“...doesn’t seem to be too heavily guarded.” Glimmer had finished noting. Mal nodded.  
“Perhaps he really is just looking for our cooperation?”  
“Can we trust that though?” Glimmer frowned. “You said he turned on his own people.”  
“We don’t know his reasons. Things are rarely cut and dry.” Mal proposed.  
“So what now?”  
“We’ll find out,” Mal paused, “Tallstar?”

Tallstar snapped out of her daze of watching the golden owl float by between buildings above their head to look at Glimmer and Mal. The elder of the two held her cane, hands folded over the handle, head tilted in question.

“Is something the matter?”  
“I just got a lead on where my sister is around here.” Tallstar frowned. “I gotta go.”  
“By yourself?”

“Sy-Klone’s your problem, your Majesty, not mine.” Tallstar turned swiftly on her heel, but as she was about to leave, Glimmer popped up behind her in a burst of pink. 

“We talked about this!” Glimmer jabbed her finger at Tallstar. “You don’t get to act like this isn’t your problem too!”

“I don’t expect someone who doesn’t have skin in the game to understand.” Tallstar refuted.  
“Why I oughta~”

“Glimmer.” Mal called, dipping her head. “Let her go.” 

Glimmer groaned and yielded. Tallstar pushed past Glimmer, shoving her roughly as she stared at the woman’s back, watching her disappear around the building. She turned to Mal and shrugged, and Mal sighed.

[So...she ditched you?]

Tab’s voice so soft and breathy in Mal’s ear startled her. Mal bit her lip and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She caught Glimmer looking at her with concern. Mal reached for her pills again and Glimmer looked away.

“Yeah, Tab,” Glimmer answered for them both, “she did.”  
[If you hold tight, I can get there in less than five minutes.]

“Be someone else’s White Knight, would you?” Mal sighed, her tone biting. “We’ve been over this. I don’t need your help, Tabby.”

[You think I can’t handle a situation like this? I only let you play good cop for our job negotiations specifically because no one expects the footless Theran to be a threat and you take great joy in proving them wrong when we have to use more aggressive tactics.]

“Has nothing to do with your ability, Tab. I simply find you annoying right now.” Glimmer winced. Mal rolled her eyes and pressed her palm to her sternum, she muttered something low and quiet. A soft glow enveloped her hand. She then stretched her hand out and a series of circles filled with script filled the air before her with that strange, rune in the center looking like the letter N. The whole thing glowed before turning into a ball of light. A small Pink Lion appeared. 

“Woah…” Glimmer looked on, impressed and curious. “Catra said you had something like Melog. Is this her? She’s beautiful.” Glimmer blinked when Mal didn’t respond right away, simply stared at Claudine’s form wide eyed, “and kind of tiny. I thought she was bigger than Meelog?” both of Mal’s tails swished with agitation. “What is it?”

“She’s…” Mal’s voice shook, she struggled to swallow, “much smaller than she was before.”  
“Smaller?”

“She used to be bigger than Melog. Almost twice the size.” Mal whispered. “Now she’s smaller…”

“Is that a bad thing?” Glimmer was getting a feeling it was.  
“I didn’t will it myself.” Mal admitted.

[What does that mean Mal?] Tab’s voice practically boomed in her ear and Mal’s expression soured. [It’s a ‘thing’ when a Cait Sith’s familiar changes appearance suddenly isn’t it? Is this because you haven’t fully recovered? Hold tight, I’ll ~]

“I don’t want you near me right now. I thought I made that clear, Tabby.” Mal hissed.  
[This again? I thought you got that out of your system last night when~]  
“Going radio silent.”  
[Wait!]

“So,” Glimmer took a breath “what does it mean?” she questioned. “You obviously don’t want to tell Tab. That can’t be for a good reason. At least tell me so I know what I’m dealing with.”

“Time is precious. Let’s go.”

Glimmer put her hand to her head and groaned. Mal gave her a gentle smile, then nodded to Claudine who ran off in the direction of Tallstar. As they ascended the stairs, Glimmer slowed her pace to match Mal and her cane.

“They’re probably going out of their mind right now.”  
“I don’t have a collar on my neck.” Mal gestured to her throat. “They aren’t my keeper.”

“Not saying they are. I just know what it’s like when you’ve screwed things up between someone you really care about and yourself. It’s not a great place to be, even if you really want to dig your heels in and justify it however you can and just…” Glimmer frowned, looking at Mal just as they came to the doors. “Knowing you hurt someone you love is…”

“Archer boy?” Mal tilted her head.  
“And Adora.” Glimmer muttered. “Both of them really.”

Mal looked at Glimmer for a long time before covering her eyes with a hand and laughing. Light. Jaunty. Shoulders shaking. Glimmer frowned, hands on her hips, glaring at Mal until she sobered some minutes later.

“We’re really a lot alike, you know that?”  
Glimmer blinked. “What makes you say that?”

“Yet we’re so different too. I feel like I could have been you like, nine years ago. I don’t mean that as an insult.” Mal played off. “Just. I know what it’s like to love multiple people and to keep doing crap that makes them wonder what the hell they even see in you.” She shook her head. “I’m not doubling down for my sake. I never thought I was ‘right’ in all of that mess on Starship Eternia. Not even for a second. Lawful? Sure, I’m the Queen now. I am the law. But laws and morals...they don’t always align do they?”

Glimmer came up to her other side, the one without the cane, her voice dropping. “Then why?”  
“Can I ask you something?”  
“What?”  
“Who forgave you first?” Mal tilted her head.  
Glimmer flushed. “Adora. She just forgave and forgot. Bow...needed some time.”

“I take it she’s the sort where if you hurt her, she let’s it go so easily, but if you hurt someone she cares about she holds a grudge. A long one.” Mal posited. Glimmer giggled.

“What gave you that idea? You know, other than her whole thing with Tab?” Glimmer snorted.

“Tab’s like Adora then. More so than either realizes.” Mal nodded. “I see how Tab looks at me. If I went up to them now and kissed them, they wouldn’t even blink. Just mutter that it was,” Mal cleared her throat then let her voice drop to a warm, chesty range “about damn time Grima.”

Glimmer burst out laughing. “Is that your impression of them? Your voice isn’t deep enough!”

“Their voice is nowhere near as deep as Tom.” Mal played off, “I swear, if he wasn’t into Percy, and my mother was still alive, she’d melt just listening to him -- mother totally had a type, if my father’s voice is any indication.” Mal rolled her eyes, “Anyways -- I know Tab and knowing Tab means that I know they already forgave me. Even if I don’t agree with them doing so.”

“So you’re doubling down to make them mad at you?”

“No.” Mal shook her head. “To let Tab actually confront their feelings without feeling pressured to put it aside so they can take care of me.”

“So you worry them by acting like an idiot?” Glimmer crossed her arms. “That’s the dumbest reasoning I have ever heard. You should just trust they can sort it out, or is this you trying really desperately to get a divorce?”

Mal raised a quizzical eyebrow. “You know as the Queen of Panthera I could just annul?”

Glimmer cocked an eyebrow. “You strike me as the type who doesn’t want it on record that she threw in the towel. Which is dumb by the way. If Tab really is like Adora, they’re never going to give up on you. Even if they have to walk away for their own good for a while.”

“Maybe you’re right!” Mal chuckled. “I really don’t deserve them.”

A young Theran with brilliantly golden eyes, black hair and blue Gar like skin caught Mal’s attention. She frowned, studying the young girl before the girl bowed to them.

“Are you Queen De’va?”

Mal folded her hands over her cane, body language more guarded. “Yes, and this here is my friend Glimmer. She’s assisting me as you can see?” She waved her cane to emphasize.

The girl nodded. “Right this way, your Highness.”

Mal and Glimmer exchanged glances and the Queen of Brightmoon moved to remain constantly in arms reach of her contemporary as they were led to the audience chamber.

*

Catra stood at the edge of the building. So close to the edge that it was beginning to make Adora nervous, but she smiled all the same, worried teeth. Catra’s tail danced behind her as she held a pair of binoculars to her eyes, frowning. Melog was content to hang back, away from the edge, nuzzling Adora’s leg insistently until she scratched Melog behind an ear.

“How’s it looking so far?”  
“Honestly. It seems he really just ‘wants to talk’. No more guards than normal around here.”  
“Really?”

“Wanna take a look?” Catra straightened up and handed the binoculars to Adora, their hands brushing. Adora took the binoculars and put them to her own eyes, taking a breath and peering.

“You’re right. What do you think this means?”  
“Maybe they got a reason to be against the First Ones too?” Catra deduced. “But why?”  
“This...place doesn’t have a lot of money, does it? Except for the Embassy.” Adora pointed out.

[Hey. Tallstar just ditched.] Tab’s voice came across, harsh and annoyed.  
“Does this mean Mog owes me ten now?” Catra grinned.  
[Not the time.] Tab sighed. [Can you two see if you can spot her and keep an eye?]  
“Aye-Aye Captain.” Catra chuckled.

[By the Grace of the Goddess, everyone’s findin’ their Lynx-given roles. Mog keeps askin’ me to blow shit up. Tom keeps tellin’ me not to drive up my blood pressure, Mal insists on doin’ shit that makes my blood pressure sky high and now you are bein’ a snarky little git. Joy. Shoot me.]

“No thanks, your wife might be acting like an idiot but there is no doubt in my mind that she will light me on fire if I shot you -- even if she knew you requested it.” Catra teased. “We may annoy you, but you like us.” 

[Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Can we just get this done and ditch this place? I’m sick of Anwat-Gar.]

“Catra!” Adora’s voice broke Catra’s conversation with Tab, her eyes turned to Adora who waved her back to the edge of the building, and then pointed. Catra squinted until Adora passed her the binoculars. “Look. There!”

“What am I looking at?” Catra wondered. Adora stood behind her, on tippy toes, carefully, then reached around Catra’s arms and directed her.

“That girl there. She looks...a lot like you. Or am I imagining it?” Catra almost forgot to breathe when she felt the push of Adora’s chest against her back. She refocused her binoculars and saw a peculiar sight. Kittrina, walking along the streets, a smirk on her face. Her hands were in her pocket. She slipped down an alleyway. Then shortly afterwards there was Tallstar, moving in the same direction, her eyes gazing up. Catra caught sight of a bird -- an owl above.

“It's Kittrina.” Catra confirmed.  
“Who?”  
“She’s…” Catra paused, “my younger cousin.” Melog cooed with worry, curling up by Catra.  
“How come she’s not with you and Mal?” Adora asked innocently.  
“Mal…” Catra could feel a flush creeping up her neck, “wouldn’t tell me.”

There was a pause, drawn out, long. Catra regretted the word choice. Could feel Adora’s body stiffen before she pulled away, her blue eyes guarded. Distrustful.

“She’s still not telling you everything, is she?” Adora concluded.  
“She’s not a bad person!” Catra defended. Melog turned a pale yellow and snarled at Adora.  
“I don’t think she is.” Adora admitted calmly, “but her secrets are going to get someone hurt.”

That was something, oddly enough, that Catra couldn’t find herself arguing with. She found herself looking at Adora, frowning at her. Melog calmed as well, looking between them both.

“Adora?”  
Adora blinked and looked at her. “What is it?”

“Why did you practically run around the universe just to find me? It would have been easier to just forget about me. You have your own friends, you know, and all of Etheria.”

Adora sighed. “They’re getting away.” She looked over at the alleyway. “We should follow them.”

“I need to know why you’re here.” Catra stepped in front of Adora, breaking her gaze from their target. “Is this about playing hero? I don’t need your help anymore. I have other people who will help me when I need it. I told you that already.”

“It’s not about that at all!”

“Then what is it? Why? Was it because you pitied me? Thought I couldn’t handle myself? Or is this more ‘because it’s the right thing’ crap?”

“No. It’s because, even after everything, you’re still Catra. You’re still that girl I grew up with. My best friend.”

“Just what does that mean to you now? I notice you’ve been a little distant with Glimmer. Why? I thought she was like family to you?”

“She is.” Adora admitted softly, “But you’re different. You’ll always be different.”  
“In what way?”

“In…” Adora flustered, putting her hands on top of her head in frustration. “Look, they’re going to get away! Can we discuss this at another time?”

“What do you want from all of this, Adora? From me?”

[Guys. Claudine is coming your way. For some reason Mal didn’t take her with her.]

“She’s probably following Tallstar.” Catra called back to Tab, sighing at their timing. “Melog,” she called. Melog cooed. “Scout ahead. We’ll be right behind you.”

Melog took off, leaving the two of them alone.

“Adora…” Catra asked softly, “do you ever consider what it is that you want?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Nevermind. We should catch up to Melog.”

*

Randor had always been a tall imposing figure, or rather, he used to be. As Adam approached the Throne of this ship, he bowed his head and realized in the few years since he had seen his father last -- he had actually grown taller. Tall enough that even though his father was seated and he was kneeling, his father seemed smaller. He was still leaner than King Randor. He simply didn’t put muscle on the same way his father did, and he didn’t have his reddish brown hair or hazel eyes. Blonde hair and blue eyes? Those were features from his mother.

“Rise my son!” Adam did. Teela stayed kneeling. “It has been a long time! Too long!” He stood from his throne and walked past his own guards to throw his arms around Adam and squeezed him in a tight embrace. Adam found he could look above his father’s head and had to be mindful the crown didn’t gouge his eyes. “Every morning and night I prayed that we would overcome this rift between us and unite our people again. I’m so happy to see that day may be arriving.”

Adam drew away, searching his father’s face. Finding crows feet and creases. Grey hair in temples and beard which hadn’t been there before, all of it littered Randor’s face along with familiar, old scars from battles of old. “It’s good to see you father.”

“That Theran woman isn’t with you for once.” Randor said as matter of fact. “Well, did the mask come off?” He asked gently as he retreated to his seat. Adam watched carefully.

“I know you father.” Adam started, “at your heart you are a kind man. You were best friends with Queen C’yra much like I am with her daughter.” He watched Randor’s eyes narrow. “What is your opinion of her relationship with her daughter De’va?”

“C’yra was a firm but incredibly loving mother.” Randor agreed. Adam nodded. “And De’va, she wasn’t like the other kids. Frail, for a Theran anyways. She never seemed cold, but was distant. Shy, really. Anxious deep down perhaps? Always polite and kind, though, but I guess we never really know what’s in people’s hearts.”

“Would you say she loved her mother?” Adam asked.

“I believe she did, which makes the circumstances around her exile from us more puzzling. Especially when I consider the fact that unlike many of her siblings, she didn’t seem to have a competitive bone in her body, nevermind a passing interest in the monarchy.” Randor laughed at that, “how surprising then to hear her, on broadcast, declare herself the Reigning Queen of Panthera. She’s certainly grown into quite the fierce and astute woman. Carnivus is beside himself at how quickly people are pledging loyalty to her. Panthera’s had many skirmishes break out in the last month and a half. Dare I say it, but the kingdom seems to be tearing itself apart.”

“So what are your thoughts about her being a so called usurper?”  
“Power does something funny to certain people.” Randor answered without commitment.

“Her late Highness was an incredibly accomplished warrior who helped you fight Skeletor and his warriors. She helped you with the Galactic Horde. You don’t seriously think a nearly thirteen year old girl who you described as “frail” would take out Queen C’yra without injury -- her own mother whom you claim you knew that girl loved immensely?” Adam begged the question to his father, “Well?”

“I know he’s been lying to me. Carnivus is the type to think he is a lot more clever than what he is. This tends to make him sloppy.” Came Randor’s glib response. Adam’s blood ran cold.

“You do? Then why--”

“He had those loyal to him take as much Horde Technology as possible. I figured keeping him close couldn’t hurt, especially since he held the key to something I’ve been working on.” Randor rose from his throne again, and began heading to a small doorway behind it. “Teela, come along. You as well, Adam.”

Adam stood there, frozen with the realization. Panic and confusion written over his face. He was shoved forward by Teela and he shuffled, soon finding himself behind Randor. Off his game, no plan clear, he began to fumble.

“If you know he’s lying, why work with him? You know he killed his own nephew!”  
“Because, Adam, his ego makes him stupid.” Randor smiled. “And that makes him easy to use.”

“And your grief makes you just as foolish!” Randor’s smile faded at that and Adam found himself pushing through. “Do you think mother would want you acting like some sort of conqueror? What about my sister? Did you even know she was alive? Did you even bother to look?”

“She disappeared through a portal over twenty years ago. I always suspected it was a possibility, but I have no proof.”

“Well I do!” Adam declared. “Remember how Horde Prime was hunting down She-Ra! Well she existed. Until now Etheria had been in the dimension of Despondos, and on it was a warrior named She-Ra. When she’s not She-Ra, her name is Adora. She looks just like our mother.”

“So that was the test data you sent?” Randor stood very still, surprised. “Where is she now?”  
“With one of the safest people I can entrust her to. De’va.”  
Randor’s eyebrows lifted. “Of course.”

“If this is about grief, we don’t need to do this anymore, father. Adora is back. Adora is alive. Mother is still gone, yes, but at least we can celebrate Adora being returned safely to us.”

Randor sighed and opened the door, leading to a narrow corridor. “I need you to see this.”

Teela looked to Adam and Adam looked back, still puzzled by the King’s insistence. They followed him, and as they went through the darkness, it gradually lit up. Soon, they were able to see it. White facilities, lined up with giant, strange cylinders that looked a lot like med pods. As they got deeper though, the lights stopped flickering on, and a faint glow could be shown up ahead. Teela followed him step for step.

“Your Majesty, what is this place?” Teela asked curiously.

“Horde Prime had existed as himself for millennia. We were confused by it for years, until we got our hands on the first set of his lab equipment twenty-six years ago. Princess Lybica D’Riluth insisted that the Theran children on board were unwilling hostages and we had to do everything in our power to bring them home alive. The result? We were able to get our hands on a lot. His technology. Some of his clones even…”

A chill ran down both Adam and Teela’s spines at this as they came to the back of the lab. The glow came from three cylinders before them, filled with green liquid.

“What...what is this?” Adam looked at the sight before him. “Father, explain yourself.”

“I don’t want to rule the universe. If Adora is alive, I am happy to bring peace to the Verse and leave you each in charge of maintaining that peace for your own half. Naturally, since Panthera is helping us with this, we can give them some special sanctions, different from the rest.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about!” Adam shouted.

“All I want is for no one else to know the pain you and I had to suffer when we lost your Mother, Adam. Bringing peace, and Horde Prime’s technology? These are our answers.” Randor smiled.

Adam shook his head violently. “Have you lost your mind?”

“I haven’t. Don’t you see, my son? This is the answer to the pain of loss! De’va won’t have to be Queen anymore. Even as a small child, she made it clear she didn’t want that. And you? You’ll have your mother back. As for Devon -- such a bright and young brilliance will be able to live the life he should have. Once we do this for C’yra, Marlene and Devon, think about how many other families we’d be able to reunite after they were torn apart by Horde Prime!”

“This...this is too much.” Adam’s eyes remained fixed on the sleeping faces before him.

“It’s not. The reality is, Carnivus will use this technology for an army. I will use it to restore families. De’va doesn’t need to be put through any more, don’t you think? If I must go head to head with Chief Carnivus, I will, but it won’t be good for the Theran people.”

Adam’s eyes widened in shock. “Leave Panthera out of this.”  
“I’d like to meet Adora, and if possible, maybe get a hold of another clone as well.”

It clicked then. Adam looked at him in horror as the pieces began to line up in his head, forming a terrifying picture. “De’va said Tallstar was reporting on us to Kittrina.”

“Did she now?”

“If you know all that, this means Kittrina reports to you. When Kittrina broke away from us, sided with the Sorceress, took that Etherian we found -- the whole time she had you backing her.”

Randor smiled kindly at Adam. “Having her Grandmother back on the throne as she deserves. Getting to know the Uncle who was taken from her too soon. Having herself become Crown Princess while her Aunt is allowed to live a lackluster life free of the monarchy just like De’va always wanted. I fail to see how anyone here is getting a raw deal here, other than Carnivus, but he is a cretinous murderer, so I hardly think his welfare counts. We can either do this the easy way where everyone wins or…”

“You want to meet Adora and you want the Horde clone?” Adam repeated, quickly catching on.

“And for you to finally come back home. No more of this rebellious phase. I know grief brought you there, but once your mother is back with us, there will be no need for it.” Randor looked at him and spoke very gently. “I want us to all be a family again. Together.”

Adam’s hands curled into fists. “Consider it done, Father.” Adam began to leave the room when Randor stopped him one more time.

“Oh, and one more thing. I think you had the right idea about an Eternian-Pantheran Marriage, but as the next King, that really shouldn’t be you.” He turned to face Adam, and Adam tried hard not to make it obvious he was angry. “We can’t have a child with strong claims to two thrones can we? The Therans would only use that to try and claim power over us.”

Hypocrite. It’s what Adam wanted to say. The word got caught in his throat.

Teela was holding her breath. “What are your suggestions then, your Majesty?”

“You and Adam.” Randor commanded. Teela paled. “You’re childhood friends and both Eternian. You get along well. That’d be a good fit. Find Adora a Theran suitor. That should be enough.”

“As you wish, father.”

*

“I appreciate it, but no thank you.” Mal said, declining the tea. Glimmer watched all too carefully and noticed Mal’s fingernails -- which she had painted -- one of them, which she had dipped into the tea turned from the original navy blue to a turquoise. Glimmer made a mental note of that and didn’t touch the tea either.

“Are you sure?” Sy-Klone asked gently.

“I’m not the biggest fan of tea, but I could be convinced. How about you take a drink first? Preferably from my cup.”

“Is that a strange Theran custom?”  
“It is when you’re Royalty. You do seem quite interested in seeing me drink first. Why is that?”

A pause. A hesitation. Glimmer felt her blood pressure skyrocket. So it was poisoned. Sy-Klone only laughed, his lips twitching with amusement.

“You’re a rather cautious woman.”

“The first thing you’re taught as a child of the Royal family is that all the powerful armies in the Kingdom mean nothing if you’re careless enough to get yourself poisoned.” Mal was frowning, and Glimmer was leaning over to murmur in her ear.

“Should we get out of here?”

“We’re fine. For now.” Mal confirmed. Glimmer didn’t like it, but she looked at the Gar before them and nodded.

“This was a test, rather than an attempt on your life, believe it or not.” Sy-Klone explained gently.” Someone willing to be blindly trusting would not make a good ally to me.”

“Spare your excuses for someone who cares. You wanted the Parlay, now what do you want?”

Sy-Klone sighed, and looked to the silent sentinel that was Lady Mau hovering over his shoulder. He smiled and she nodded.  
“Please provide refreshments for our guests.” Her voice was rich and honeyed as she called out and several Therans came into the room. “Proper refreshments.”

Glimmer took a seat beside Mal, watching her carefully. Several men and women came about, but a few were younger. Her age and even younger than that. All of them sported that brand on their collarbone. She felt a sickening feeling when she saw a particular one -- young, and though noticeably Theran the child seemed different. It was the same child they saw at the entrance. She was young. Dreadfully young and Mal leaned back to catch the girl’s eyes, her own widening with the same realization Glimmer had.

“Something...non alcoholic if you would.” Mal murmured. “And some water.” The girl complied.

“Are they just…” Glimmer found herself struggling to say what crossed her mind. The potential uncomfortable world and reality that came attached, “servants here?”

“You mean to ask if I have them in my employ for other reasons?” Sy-Klone asked, finding it simple to talk about. Glimmer nodded. “A few. But we discuss that consensually as it comes up.” 

“How consensual is it when you’re the one who bought them from the dens in the first place? You own them. There’s a power imbalance.” Mal murmured into her glass of water as she took a deep whiff of it and then barely wet her lips. Her shoulders were stiff.

“A fair point, but if they seem uncomfortable I usually let it go. I don’t see them as property.”  
“Usually.” Mal echoed. It was stated more than questioned but the point was made.

“What about…?” Glimmer’s eyes darted over to the young girl. 

“Oh heavens no. That’s not my thing.” Sy-Klone assured. “You know, I heard an interesting story about your people. Lady Mau told me.”

“And what’s that?”

“There was a woman once. A powerful sorceress of Felis nature. A long time ago. She fell in love with a handsome tom of the Magicats, and they had children, but one day a war came. The Magicats were fighting the Quadians.” Sy-Klone poured himself more water, “Her husband went to protect his home. He was lost in the battles and never returned. When the fighting came to her home, she took her children and ran and ran and ran. As far as she could, for days at first, and then weeks which turned to months.”

Mal’s scowl grew. “The fighting caught up.”  
“So you do know the story?”

“Don’t be so insultingly presumptuous.” Mal groused. “I’m from the Royal Family. Of course I know the tale of Grimalkin. Our mother would tell it to us as a bedtime story.”

“Then you know where I’m going with this. One day while gathering food for her children she was found by bandits. She was robbed, stuck across the head, and left for dead. A helpful stranger found her and nursed her back to health. He was Quadian. He didn’t know her name and the trauma of her injuries led to her forgetting everything. So he kept her in his home and they fell in love. Became husband and wife. Every night, she would have a dream about a little boy and she soon came to realize this had to be her eldest son. However, she knew she had a happy life here with her new husband and the children she had with him. Until the war took him too, and two of her other children. Grief stricken, she became consumed with the thought of finding the son she saw in her dreams. She went searching for him but he couldn’t be found.”

“She found her eldest son dead, and was so consumed with grief that her magic went wild and rampant with her rage,” Mal took over the story, “and for over a hundred years she killed every soldier involved in that war and their descendants until there were only her Magicat children and Quadian children left of the two peoples.” Mal’s gaze levelled on him.

“As expected from our wonderful Queen.” Lady Mau clapped her hands together. “The fun part though is this: why was that woman named Grimalkin?”

“Mal...is another nickname for Matilda. The more commonly used nickname though is Maud. Gri comes from the word grey. Apparently the woman in her grief transformed into a giant, ash grey quadruped. Kin indicates familial relation. She’s the ancestor of Matilda, better known as Queen Maud. The first Queen of House D’Riluth. Grimalkin is more a title than a name. It’s not what her name was.” 

Sy-Klone smiled at her charmingly. “So why did you take the so-called Demon’s name for yourself? You said it. You’re a member of the Royal Family. You know the weight of that name.”

“Demon is what they called Grimalkin after several generations had come and passed. Shortly after the inciting incident, they really only acknowledged her as a powerful, vengeful spirit. But many found that categorization to be lacking because they didn’t understand her nature. A mere mortal spirit couldn’t possibly be that overwhelmingly strong, could it?” Mal smirked, looking to Glimmer, then to Lady Mau. “Did you figure out what her real name is?”

Lady Mau frowned as it occurred to her. “Lynx.” Mal smiled.  
“Look at that. Smart lady you have here, Sy-Klone.”

Glimmer’s eyes widened. “Wait, if Grimalkin is really the Goddess and you took the name because you fused with the Demon Grimalkin, Mal, does this mean…?” she trailed off, the implication overwhelming.

“It only makes sense.” Lady Mau continued. “We believe that both the Quadians and Magicats were born of the Goddess, and that both people came together to become the Therans as we know ourselves today. If Grimalkin is Lynx and she killed all but her own children, that supports Magicats and Quadians coming from her lineage. So the Goddess fell from grace?”

Sy-Klone sighed. “So we were right. Listen -- I sided with Eternia against my own people because I felt if we didn’t, my people would be gone. Wiped out. I was assured that my cooperation would guarantee the safety of several important people, but they lied.” He folded his hands. “The king was slaughtered. His children were killed mercilessly. Kids too young to know of Skeletor, nevermind what he did to Eternia.”

Now Glimmer clued in, her eyes finding that one very young ‘servant’ who dipped her head trying to avoid their gaze. “Except one.” she looked at the girl. “You’re half-Gar, aren’t you?”

The girl flinched and ran to hide behind Lady Mau and she chuckled softly, patting her head.

“That’s right. His Majesty’s wife was Theran. She escaped, but died after giving birth.” Sy-Klone sighed. “I am happy to take the fall to free my people. That child is Anwat-Gar’s future, but first we need to throw off the Eternian shackles. Allow my people to join your alliance, Queen De’va.”

Mal’s eyes fell on the child. “You have a name?”  
The girl shook her head violently. “Ju-just a number, Queen De’va.”  
“And you haven’t picked one for yourself?” She asked gently.  
“No, your Majesty.”  
“From today on, you will be called…” Mal took a deep breath. “Sazaria. Saz for short.”  
“Huh?”

“Like the Prophet blessed by the Goddess Lynx?” Lady Mau concluded.

Mal drew a breath and sighed. “You could say in some ways this is the second coming of a Prophet named Saz blessed by the Goddess.” Mal’s eyes turned back to Sy-Klone. “Well?”

“Kittrina D’Riluth is here, and I have reason to believe an Armada will follow her here shortly. Save Anwat-Gar from the Armada, and you have our allegiance.”

“And you?”

“Death. To repent for betraying my people. I will fight the Armada with you, but as far as the people of this fallen Kingdom are concerned, you freeded them yourself. Like the Goddess.”

“To fade into obscurity as nothing more than one of the tyrants? That is what you really want, isn't it? That’s more than death, that’s asking to be forgotten. That’s even worse.”

“It’s what I want. Can I depend on you for this?” Expression grim, Mal nodded. “Thank you.”

*

“Kittrina!”

Yelling was stupid. Tallstar knew it was stupid. The Theran Princess quickly ran off ahead and Tallstar willed her prosthetics to go faster, faster and faster. She caught sight of the girl’s tail and pivoted hard, feeling her knee creak as she turned down an alleyway, jumping over the various junk on the ground while hearing Kittrina’s breathless laugh.

“So they really did take good care of you!” She called back.  
“Get back here!” Where is she! Where’s Starla!” 

Tallstar found herself running out of breath in the middle of a rundown church. She frowned, looking around finding iconography of a Theran with wings, a hand held up in front of her, eyes closed. Her breath coming back to her, she tried to peer in the darkness.

“Your Hume. Your eyes suck when there isn’t enough light. Don’t bother.” Kittrina teased.  
“What did you do to my sister?”

“Relax. The brat’s safe. You need to stop running into such obvious traps though.” Kittrina hummed before walking up behind Tallstar. She spun around, striking with her arm. Kittrina laughed, pushing it down as she jumped over it. “Glad to see you’re feisty.” Kittrina grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her. “You need to be less sloppy though.”

Tallstar grunted, first with pain, then with outrage when she felt Kittrina’s hand roam about her body. “What the hell are you doing? Stop touching me!”

“There we are.” Kittrina dropped something small and then stomped on it a few times. “Now we can talk freely. Good job bugging the Purrsia and using it as a bluff, but the Cymric Cooperative might act like idiots but they really aren’t. They’ll ruin you if you’re not careful.”

“When the hell did they slip those?”  
“Likely when they gave you those clothes. Were you followed?”  
“I wasn’t.”  
“I have a feeling that’s not true.” Kittrina hummed, “but I also have no proof.”

“Stop stalling!”  
“Yet I can’t smell anyone. Though if it’s a Royal Guard, they could just be masking themselves?”  
“Where is she! We had a deal! I brought them to Anwat-Gar like you asked!”

“Oh, you were so good about it too. A little too good.” Kittrina gave a toothy grin. “What do you have on them that has them eating out of your palm? Surely Aunt De’va isn’t stupid enough to think a Selfish Little Hume like you could be trusted?”

Tallstar weighed her options quickly. A lie too obvious would blow everything. It was best to give as much of the truth as possible. “They think I ditched you and am all for their whole goody-two shoes, do-gooder shit.”

“Now why did they believe that?”  
“Your Auntie believed in a sob story about how worried I am about your wellbeing.”

“AHAHAH! Now that’s a riot!” Kittrina let her go, stifling her laughter with a hand, “you, give a shit about anyone else but yourself? And her? Eating it all up because she knows she’s a failure and wants someone to make her feel better about it? Now that’s rich. What did she say when you told her that?”

“She cried and thanked me for wanting to look out for you.” Tallstar fibbed.

Kittrina was snickering. “Well I’ll certainly give her something to cry about.” Kittrina straightened out and smoothed back her hair. “They clearly haven’t bothered to figure you out at all. All a selfish thing like you cares about is you and your own. The rest isn’t your business after that as far as you’re concerned, so telling a lie or two to get there is just a drop in the bucket.”

“That’s correct.”

“They even got you all dolled up in a nice little suit. How quaint.” Kittrina ran her hand along Tallstar’s cheek. “I moved her this morning. Late last night I learned something. Sy-Klone isn’t on Randor’s side anymore.”

“Really?” Tallstar feigned ignorance.

“Yes, and like you reported about good old Auntie, he too had a meeting at this time. I put two and two together. It seems you were about to meet with him. I knew if he saw you that could cause us both problems, so I figured Glory would catch your attention.”

“Hence the obvious trap comment.” Tallstar cursed herself.

“Listen, things are about to get a little toasty. My Uncle is on his way. So here’s the deal: I release Starla, and you go ‘missing’ long enough for them to cause concern and go looking for you. Don’t get caught. By the time Uncle is here, they won’t know what hit them.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”

“There’s my favourite selfish little hume.” Kittrina squeezed Tallstar’s cheeks. “Here.” She passed Tallstar a paper. “That’s the location I sent her to. Try to get out of the city quickly now. My Uncle believes in being expedient and efficient. That usually means carpet bombing.”

“I thought he wanted your Aunt?” Tallstar pointed out. “And what about you?”

“She’s very good at living when she shouldn’t. As for me? I have a portal cube with me to get back on the ship, and if I’m lucky this can be done with Aunt De’va. He doesn’t care about the others, so they can all die as far as he’s concerned.” Kittrina patted Tallstar on the shoulder. “Now, be my good Selfish Little Hume and get lost so I can trap them, will you?”

Tallstar nodded.

*

“What is it?” Tom’s voice was a soft grounding reality. Tab took a breath and pinched the bridge of their nose looking at the old man. “I have a feeling this isn’t good.”

“Tallstar’s tracker is out.” Tab sighed, biting on a thumb. “Catra and Adora were followin’ her.”

“That’s not good at all.” Tom’s face became drawn.

“She was with Kittrina.” Tab rubbed their shoulder. Nothing not even a tingle, and yet… “Tom?”  
“What is it…”

“Be prepared.” Tom noted their tone and reached over, hitting a button nearby and it lit orange with a faint beep. “Start gettin’ the kids into their stations like we agreed. All hands on Deck. I have a feelin’ we’re gonna have company soon.” Tab stood up from their pilot’s chair, taking their leather jacket and pulling their arms through it. They took a deep breath and Mal’s scent surrounded them. Grounded them. Comforted them. “Her favourite colour, huh.”

“What convinces you of that?” Tab snapped back to the present. Did Mal say something?”  
“No. Not last night. I just have a hunch.” Tab sighed. “If there’s Kittrina here but no Sorceress…”  
“She wouldn’t willingly work with Carnivus. Even if she and Kittrina are playing both sides.”

“That’s what I figured too.” Tab licked their lips. “The Sorceress sees Carnivus as the root of everything wrong. She wouldn’t want to help him even if it will help her own goals.”

“If they bring an Armada here, we’re sitting ducks.” Tom noted gently. “Any idea how we’re gonna deal with that?”

“It’s risky but…” Tab turned to him, hiking up the collar of their jacket, “we need to be hidden, or in the air. If we’re in the air, we risk being shot down. If we’re on the ground we’ll never leave it. If we’re in the sea…”

“That’s crazy enough that it might work.” Tom hummed in thought. “But if we do that, any ability to fight them in the sky will be non-existent, unless we want to blow our cover.

“Then while we got the time? Activate the AIs on our fighters. Send them to places not easily seen in the city with their cloaking on. When the fighting starts, you and Mog get to yours.” 

“Hey Mog!” Tom called into the speaker. “You got all that?”

[Loud and clear old man. One problem. We got four fighters. If Tom is in the Gentle Giant and I’m in the Swordfish Two, I’m assuming we’re hoping her Highness will somehow get back in time to be in the Clawdeen-Nu?]

“Yes. That’s correct.”  
Mog sighed. [You sure that’s wise? I hear G-forces aren’t kind to drug stupors.]

“Mog…” Tab sighed themselves. “Look, you might have not forgiven her, and frankly, neither have I, but she’s still the Mal we’ve always known deep down. Don’t doubt that.”

[If you say so Captain.] Mog chuckled. [I guess whether or not we end up dead will be the proof itself. Well that leaves the Panther Zeta.]

“That last one’s never been used. There’s only been four of us until Catra.”

[Yeah, but I got it all set up! With all this extra help around the ship I figured ‘what the hell’ Prince Adam did give us a lot of supplies. Pity to waste a shiny new-to-us fighter when it could save our butts.] Mog’s voice turned teasing. [It has your name on it Captain.]

“I’ll pass. I need to hit the ground. First Kittrina. Then Mal. There’s no way I could circle back in time if things blow up in between.”

Mog sighed. [Then who could actually fly a fighter competently among us?]  
A voice cleared. Then he spoke, soft, gentle. [Ex-excuse me.]

Tab’s eyes narrowed. She had only heard him speak a few times but she knew his voice. It was the Clone. He kept his head low, kept to himself knowing half of the Therans on the crew didn’t like him by default, but they hadn’t been mistreating him. No. Tab and Mog took to ignoring his existence. It was cowardly but also easier. Reluctantly, others accommodated: Tom had the clone get food after the meal. The kids often stayed at the table to sit with him while Tab and Mog bugged off somewhere else. Not fair but as close to harmonious as they could get.

“Wordak is what the kids call you, right?”  
[Y-yes, ah, sir...Ma’am]  
“Tab. Captain is fine too.”

[Captain. Back when I was with Horde Prime, I was a part of his Armada. Specifically his airforce. If it pleases you, I could take on the new ship. I saw what Miss Entrapta and Mr. Mog put into it. It’s repurposed from the Horde. Flying it would be simple for me.]

Tab weighed the options. “Do it, and wait for my signal. I’ll tell you all when to scramble.”

[Right Cap!]  
[Thank you Captain!]

“Take care of yourself out there, Tab.” Tom added softly. Tab smiled.

“Send out those ships. Keep the Clawdeen-Nu here. I have a feeling she’ll insist on coming back here first.”

“How?”

“Glimmer.” Tom nodded. “Get Bow going. Tell him to try to track down Tallstar. You and Mog depart after you send out the fighters with Wordak. Entrapta can hold down the ship, right?”

[That I can!] Tab chuckled at the interjection. [Be...safe.]  
“Thank you. See you all on the other side.”

*

Mrow.

The deep throated meow caught Adora and Catra’s attention. Melog ran ahead before skidding to a stop, sniffing the pink lion, once, twice, then making a curious meow instead, coming to Catra.

“What is it girl?” She scratched Melog’s head as she kept meowing insistently, worriedly. Adora looked at the pink lion. “That’s Claudine.”

“She’s Mal’s?” Adora smiled when Claudine sniffed at her, then frowned when Claudine began to growl at her. “She’s cute...does she bite?”

“Sometimes, but I don’t think she will if I tell her not to.”Catra confirmed. “She didn’t used to be this small. She was much bigger than Melog -- big enough that Mal and Tab could have ridden her together. I wondered what happened. Melog seems distressed by it for some reason.”

“Maybe it’s a bad sign?” Adora proposed. Catra shrugged it off before cooing to Melog to go ahead and the two of them followed, shoulder to shoulder. Adora turned her bracer back into a sword as they kicked around, careful. Cautious.

They ended up in the abandoned church.

“Stay close to me Adora.” Catra murmured. “I can see better than you can in here.”  
“Thanks.”

Movement.

“Adora, your left!” Adora did just that, slashing at the person who came. Her sword caught on sharp claws and they heard a chuckle.

“Who’s there!” Adora called out.

“Kittrina! Is that you?” Catra growled when they saw movement up ahead. Up. Climbing. Into the rafters. 

“Hey Cous! Catch me if you can! Or do you want me to get away with all your answers!” Kittrina called down. “Don’t you want to know what it takes to have a Demon on your payroll?”

“Get back here!”  
“Catra, wait!”

Catra ran ahead. Leaping up into the rafters and then disappearing all together. Adora frowned as she ran back out through the door. Then shimmied down the side. There. A ladder. She could hear fighting above her as she rushed up and up.

Kittrina was as quick as Catra, but she had a little more strength to her blows. Enough that a couple of punches has Catra bleeding from the lip. Catra gave as good as she got though, and caught Kittrina across the face, and she yowled, backing to the edge of the church.

“Stop running away!”

“I’m not running!” Kittrina grinned. “That’s not my specialty. It is our Auntie’s though!” Adora got to the roof and ended up beside Catra as Kittrina looked at them disdainfully. “You think she’s going to stick around for you? She’s known me since birth and she abandoned me!”

Adora saw it then. Catra’s eyes grow hard and flinty. Her jaw tightened. “What do you know?” She lunged for Kittrina. Kittrina laughed, jumping over her arm, and landing a kick. Catra was faster though. She had better reflexes and grabbed Kittrina’s ankle, and judging by how she struggled and got nowhere, Catra had the better grip strength. She wrestled Kittrina down to the ground, using her own body weight to pin her there.

Adora approached and willed the Sword of Protection into something helpful. She got the length of rope and tied Kittrina securely, ignoring her hissing and spitting.

“Kittrina,” Catra growled, “tell me what you know.”

“If you only said please, I’d have sang like a canary sooner.” She grinned. “De’va’s a liar. A compulsive one at that. It’s not fully her fault, I guess.” Kittrina tilted her head as she looked at Catra with a smug smirk, “I’d be just as messed up deep down if I killed my own mother.”

“She didn’t do it.” Catra defended.

“And you actually believe her? What can you really trust with a woman who could turn on her own spouse so easily like she did on Starship Eternia?” Kittrina positioned. “Did you realize that what she did was manipulate everyone there?” Adora felt a chill down her spine at that. “She made your girlfriend there look like a villain turned redeemed hero, and Ancle Tabby look like a victim. All to boost her own status as a Queen not to be trifled with. She manipulated the narrative from the start. Ask her yourself -- I’m sure she’ll admit it.”

“You don’t understand the situation at all.” Catra spat.

“Don’t I? You’ve been aware you’re Royalty for what? A few months now? I’ve known my whole life. I know that a beautiful lie for the people can often give you more clout and sway over them than the truth.” She chuckled. “Besides, that rune on her forehead? Sigma? That is the mark of the Goddess. Even as a baby she was marked as blessed! Frail and weak is just an act to make people like you pity her.”

Catra growled. “You’ve never seen how much pain she’s in!”

“I don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, she earned her pain.” Kittrina sighed. “Look, I think it’s telling that she gave her soul for power. That was the trade. Grimalkin gives her power and takes her soul when she eventually dies. That’s all it’s ever been about for her. Power.”

Adora flinched when she saw Catra’s hand wound back, then yelled out when she threw it, striking Kittrina on the cheek. The younger Theran, nearly Catra’s spitting image spat blood and snickered at the blow.

“Again! Come on! You know you want to!”  
“Brat!”

“Catra!” Adora called, a hand on her shoulder. “Stop.” Catra growled. “Stop. She’s goading us. She’s doing this on purpose.” Adora’s blue eyes found Kittrina’s mismatched eyes. “What are you distracting us from?” She pieced together.

Kittrina giggled. “From looking up.” She grinned.

They both craned their heads back when they noticed it. Among the clouds. First one. Then two. Then multiple others. Like shadows that blocked the sun briefly before leaving the proud daylight to them. Ships. Plural. Multiple.

“Who…” Adora whispered.

“Chief Carnivus D’Riluth. This is his Armada.” Kittrina provided. “Our Great Uncle.” She looked to Catra. “This is the part where you run away. He’s going to take Aunt De’va, and if we’re lucky, she’ll be able to give him what he wants so badly.”

Catra stared at her, wide eyed, hardly breathing. “Which is?”  
“Kittens. As many as possible. As many until it kills her!” Kittrina was practically vibrating.

Adora quickly caught the unsaid. “He’s a monster. Why would he do that?”

“For a new dynasty. His dynasty!” Kittrina gave a tired smile. “He’ll use her like a broodmare. Like he does my mother. It was her or us, Catra and I chose me!” Kittrina’s laughter sounded almost deranged. “Do the same! Get out of here. Run away. Hide for a while. You were never a part of this mess until she was selfish enough to drag you into it. Let her rot for it! She’s used to this sort of thing -- she is a Lioness after all! Go back to your back water planet. Hide from him.”

Catra bit her lip before reaching for Kittrina by the ropes and bringing her face to face.

“You’re enabling him.”  
“I have no allegiances to a woman who abandoned me!” Kittrina spat in her face.  
“Did you ever bother to hear her side of the story?” Catra asked, wiping her face.  
“I don’t have to! She’s with you, living a life of fun and adventure while my mother and I suffer!”  
“So you’re doing this out of revenge?”

Kittrina kicked Catra in the shin. Catra almost dropped her, biting her lip as she held firm.

“You know, if you were willing to make someone go through something that awful to protect yourself because you’re scared of him going after you? I’d think you were terrible, but I could understand it.” Catra admitted softly. “But if you’re doing mostly just to get even? When you never bothered to understand what someone else had gone through before concluding they had it better than you? Maybe you’re not so different from Chief Carnivus? Maybe you’re just as twisted and pathetic and awful? What happens when De’va isn’t enough?”

It was quick. Catra heard the crack. Adora saw Kittrina’s shoulders pop out of their socket, her arms twist to let the ropes fall before she popped them back in, headbutting Catra in the nose. This got her to let go as a spray of blood spilled -- her nose broken. Kittrina giggled.

“Isn’t it a joy to be double jointed?”  
“Get back here!”

“Aunt De’va will be enough. He promised me. She’s the only one he ever really wanted. He’ll leave you alone, he’ll leave me alone, he’ll leave Ancle Tabby. Uncle promised.” Adora called the Sword of Protection to her hand and lowered into a ready stance. Kittrina saw it and smirked, though she was shaking. “This is for everyone’s benefit. The greater good, right?”

Catra held her nose and glared at the girl. 

“There’s another option, Kittrina.” Adora spoke softly. “Leave. Come with us. De’va would want that, I’m sure. Deep down, she just wants you to be safe.”

“If she wanted me to be safe with her so badly, she would have taken me with her in the first place!” Kittrina lunged at Adora, catching her across the left cheek. Adora yelped, and hit her with the broadside of the sword. Catra stood there speechless. She couldn’t argue that point, she had no way to. “She wouldn’t have saved just herself, she would have brought me, protected me! Instead she has her fun and then finds YOU,” at this Kittrina tried to pivot around Adora to catch Catra’s arm. Catra felt the sting of claws along her forearm while she heard Adora murmur an apology, “and suddenly she wants to protect someone! For what? To make herself feel better? Feel like she actually cares about someone other than herself? Bullshit!”

Catra took a breath, ran at Kittrina and kicked her off the edge of the rooftop. Adora looked on with shock. The girl managed to flip into landing on her feet with a thud. She glared up at the two of them on the roof before looking up into the sky and running off.

“Why…?”  
“Let her go, Adora.” Catra’s voice was shaking.  
“That guy is going to hurt her! Are you really okay with that?”  
“It’s like with me and Shadow Weaver again. You knew I’d be stuck with her. You left anyway.”  
“I didn’t leave you behind to make you suffer, I left because~”  
“Because it was ‘the right thing to do’ right?”

Adora shook her head violently. “No. I mean, at first it was, but then -- then I realized Catra, after spending time with Bow and Glimmer? I couldn’t go back to living like that.”

“Not even for me, right?”  
Adora’s eyes squeezed shut. “Catra.”

“My point is,” Catra shrugged off, “if Chief Carnivus is all she knows, we’re not going to convince her like that. Not for Mal’s sake. That’s her reality. Everything else is too terrifying.” Catra explained softly. “If she’s going to do it, she’s going to have to do it for herself.”

“How can you be so sure about that Catra? She has Mal and you I’m sure--”  
“It didn’t work with me, did it?” Catra snapped. Adora withdrew as though she was burned.  
“R-Right.”  
“Let’s go. We need to get out of here. Once we’re safe, De’va needs to answer a few questions.”

*

Kittrina held the small cube in her hand. Hopefully she had bought enough time. Hopefully Uncle was about to surround the Embassy hopefully ~

Two arms. One pressed to her mouth to keep her from screaming. The other around her waist, grabbing and dragging her backwards. She struggled. Kicked and tried to scream as best she could, but it was to no avail. Whoever it was happened to be stronger than her. She took in the scent and was confused when she smelled her Aunt. Then, beneath it, a different smell. One she knew as well. Auncle Tabby. 

“Look kid, I’m really sorry about almost shootin’ you the other day.” Tab’s voice was soft and soothing. Kittrina felt them hit into a wall. They were in an alleyway, and Tab folded themselves around Kittrina. She stopped struggling, taking deep breaths. Calming. “You gonna be okay?”

“Y-yeah.”  
“That’s your Great Uncle up there, ain’t it?” Tab asked softly.  
“It is.”

“Figures.” Tab moved their arms to hug Kittrina tightly. She didn’t fight it, her breath hitching. Tab gave her a light squeeze. “You don’t owe me a thing kid, but why?”

“Because I want her to suffer just as much as Mom has.”  
Tab paused then very quietly said. “Trust me. She already has. Maybe even more?”  
“How!?”

“That’s not my story to tell, but take it from me, her spouse. I was with your Uncle Devon when we found her. The sight of her and the state she was in…” Tab sighed, “it was heartbreaking. Your situation is also heartbreaking.”

“You’re the only one who seems to care though.”

“You know that’s not true.” Tab shook their head. Kittrina turned around and wrapped their arms around Tab. The older Theran sighed, patting Kittrina’s head. They then looped an arm around her and began leading her out of the Alleyway, down the roads towards the harbour. Their heads pressed together, and the sound of the waterfront both grounded Kittrina, and she found herself able to breath properly again. “We should get goin’, Kitt. It’s not safe to hang around.”

“Ancle Tab,” She stared at her feet, “why didn’t she come back for me? Doesn’t she love me?”  
“You left by yourself, didn’t you?” Tab asked back. “From Adam’s protection. To spite your Aunt.”  
“I did, but that was only because she left my mother there in that hell! She abandoned her!”  
“We didn’t have a choice. We could only get one. Sunda said to choose you.”

Kittrina growled. “Well Aunt De’va could have gone back. She never did, so I had to because I don’t abandon my family! Then Aunt De’va decided neither of us were worth it, is that it?”

Tab shook their head. “You got it twisted kid. You went back to him at an age old enough that you can have kittens. We all know his intentions.” Kittrina shivered. “We knew that he was keeping you and your mother separated to capitalize on this, so if we followed what would have been Sunda’s wish and rescued you first, your mother wouldn’t survive.” Kittrina paled.

“How...do you know?”

“You know your mother better than anyone. If your Uncle didn’t do it to send a message to us, she would have done it to escape her torment since she would know you were finally safe.”

“Mother....mother wouldn’t...she.” Kittrina didn't sound like she believed her own words.

“If we instead ignored Sunda’s wish and saved her first…” Tab left it unsaid. Kittrina stiffened, Tab continued. “Your Aunt knew that would be your mother’s worst nightmare, but saving you would doom her. She decided we needed to figure out how to go after him first if we wanted to save you both. That decision cut her into pieces. There isn’t a single day where your Aunt doesn’t think of you and your Mom and not worry or hate herself for it.”

“You’re lying.”  
“You can ask her yourself. Come with us. Join my crew.”

“But wouldn’t he kill Mom then?” Kittrina sounded on the verge of sobs. Tab shushed her, drawing her into their chest and running a hand through her hair.

“Don’t you get it kid?” They breathed softly, eyes flicking around, alert. “If he gets Mal, he has no need for your mother anymore. It’s lose-lose from here. The only win now is gettin’ you out.”

“But he promised! He said!”  
“And you actually believe him?” Tab asked softly.

All fight left Kittrina. “But he said…”

“Did you think this through? The most important thing to him is a new Dynasty of his creation with his blood in their veins.” Tab reminded her. “Did you really think you could just hand over your Aunt and he would let you walk away? He knows her health has been frail in the past. He’ll want insurance. He’ll want you. Hell, he probably won’t even stop there.”

“Catra?”  
“Yes. Your Aunt and I have been thinkin’ it could turn to this the moment we knew who she was.”  
“But he said…” Kittrina tried not to cry. The evidence was hard to ignore. She was shaking.

“She’ll take you back with open arms. Believe me. Catra was never meant to replace you. Catra is Catra. You are yourself.” Tab smiled and nuzzled Kittrina. “She loves you and just wants you to be safe and away from that bastard.”

“Then why did she kill Grandma?”  
“You already know deep down she didn’t.”

“Oh, but she did!”

Tab’s eyes widened at that voice. All air left their lungs. Kittrina went rigid. Tab looked behind them to find the towering figure. That red hair. The green eyes. Chief Carnivus clapped slowly as he approached them.

“If your sweet Aunt had a spine, she would have struck me down when I attacked C’yra. She had the chance and a clear shot too.”

“Your Niece was twelve. You could have overpowered her easily.”  
“Physically, perhaps, but if she just tapped into that beautiful magic of hers?”

“Takin’ out the entire castle one time because she couldn’t control it? Maybe you shouldn’t have been killin’ in the first place?” Tab threw back. “But why talk about morals with a monster?”

“Ah! You got me there!” He chuckled, closing the gap between the three of them. “It’s nice to get down on the ground and get my hands dirty for once. I missed my days as an infantryman.”

Kittrina ran behind Tab. “No! Go away! Why are you here! You said I could leave forever!”

“I said you could have your freedom, not that it’d be indefinite.” Carnivus gave her a lecherous smirk as she shivered. “A beautiful Theran queen like you? With the blood of C’yra in her veins? You’re needed too if I’m to carve a legacy for my sister and I that will have been greater than had she still lived.

“Sick bastard.” Tab growled, stepping firmly to make sure Kittrina was firmly behind them. “How did you even find us in the first place? How didn’t I notice?”

Carnivus held up his hand and revealed three small cubes. “A tracker. Like I said, Kittrina, I would let you have your freedom. I never said I wouldn’t bring you back if I needed you.” He pointed to the next cube. “A cloaking device, and for good measure, a pheromone blocker.”

Tab growled low and menacing, before pressing a button at the collar of their jacket. “Purrsia. This is Tab. Scramble.”

“Ah. I thought you had a plan the moment my troops reported when that bucket of bolts you call your ship couldn’t be found.” Chief Carnivus sighed, shaking his head. “Oh well, I have the better numbers. We both know how this is going to end. What would you like on your grave?”

“Uncle!” Kittrina called back. “You promised! You said you wouldn’t hurt Ancle Tabby!”

Carnivus frowned. “Yes, well, that was until I finally realized who this mongrel was. Major Tabby Manx? The youngest Major of the Theran Military? My nephew’s personal fuck you to my plans? A commoner with their dirty blood cozying up to a Royal like my niece De’va? I’m glad you haven’t had children yet. Adding filth to our bloodline would taint it forever. I’d have to kill the child and the mother in that case.”

“You really need to burn in hell!”

“You know, if you had never poke your nose where it didn’t belong, Devon might still be alive, and you,” he chuckled, “probably wouldn’t be dying today. Curiosity kills.”

“Von’s claim to the throne was stronger.” Tab bit back. “You would have killed him anyways.”

“Only on a technicality, but if he was an obedient boy I’d have had no issue using him like a puppet. Like the mongel you are, though, you tainted him and he began thinking for himself.”

“Kit. Run.”  
“But~”

“Find your Aunt and Catra! Get out of here! Now!” Tab sprinted towards Carnivus and Kittrina stood, too shocked to move. When she heard the snarling, she was knocked out of her stupor. Kittrina took off in the opposite direction, towards the Embassy. She had gotten a few hundred meters when she heard Tab yelling. Watched them be thrown into the air only to fall on the ground right in front of her like a ton of bricks, staining the ground red, bones cracking.

Tab groaned, and rolled over, pushing themselves to their feet unsteadily. Their fangs elongated, and muffled their speech as they roared at her.

“Keep goin’!” They told her as their face began to turn into a muzzle, as they crouched over. Kittrina did as ordered, running to the alleyway to get to the rooftops where she could keep an eye from a distance as she sprinted, further and further.

She looked back to see him rip something from Tab’s neck, kicking them backwards before he pulled out a gun and fired right at their chest.

“NO!”

Blinding panic filled her as she ran, and ran, and ran. She didn’t hear him behind her. Didn’t see a shadow of him around the corner. She just kept running until her legs threatened to give out, blind with panic and fear, no longer caring where she ended up.

She fell, tripping over her own feet, hitting the dirt hard. She heard footsteps then. A pattern of four legs. She closed her eyes, waiting, fearing the worse until something nuzzled against her. A soft muzzle. She opened her eyes to find pink fur greeting her.

“Claudine?” She was gentle. Kittrina wondered if this was how her Aunt felt. “Why are you so tiny?” Claudine nudged her hand. “What? You want me to follow you?” Claudine nudged again. “Alright. Lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adora answers with the very thing she said back in Tempest when Catra asked her why she came back. It looks like Adora is in denial about what to call the feelings, but she knows they're there. On one hand, poor Catra, on the other hand, it can be hard to admit to yourself that you're in love with someone who hurt your friends and you as badly as Catra has, so I see where Adora is coming from.
> 
> Carnivus makes his play. Tab throws down and is cut down very quickly. Kittrina realizes she was an idiot and Catra understands where Kittrina is coming from! Oh my!
> 
> This time it's the crew of Purrsia who doesn't have their crap together while Catra and the BFS do. Hopefully they can all pull together, right? But can they really do it now that Tab is gone?
> 
> We also have the pay off to one of the things that Mal has been dropping hints about throughout this story now: The Goddess Lynx and The Demon Grimalkin are one and the same being. Just like the Therans themselves, their Goddess has a duality to her nature. So then, what does it really mean that Mal supposedly 'traded her soul' to a being that might actually be a deity?
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “Catra,” Adora looked up to the sky as it took on an ominous, deep purple colour as black clouds filled the sky, “what is that thing?” Catra gaped as the image of the strange creature she once saw in that false Fight Zone yowled so loudly it was deafening. Lightning, bright and white filled the air with a flash and the scent of ozone. The thunder was as loud as the creature’s screams.
> 
> “Grimalkin.” Catra breathed.  
> “That thing’s Mal!?” Adora looked at her, incredulously.  
> “Sort of and...not really. I think.”


	29. “If we do nothing, we’re just as likely to die, so I’ll take my chances!”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal remembers a story Tab told her about her late brother, Von, as she and Glimmer realize they may be staring down death.  
> Kittrina finds herself regretting her decisions as she finally comes face to face with her Aunt and fears her judgement.  
> Catra tries to resolve matters the peaceful way. When it doesn't work, Adora decides it's time to break things.  
> Entrapta and Bow have a plan. A risky plan that could save the mind controlled Therans, but at what cost?  
> Tallstar finds herself unable to abandon the people who had been kind to her, even with her sister back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems we are still feeling Tab's presence in this chapter though Mal is about to find out what happened.
> 
> Sorry for the delay folks! Might be switching to Sundays now but bear with me. The next few chapters are going to be quite the ride! After all, Carnivus is finally being confronted head on! Yay! Time to fight the scum bucket! lol.

Hey Adora,

I’m sorry I was a little...harsh with you earlier.

I think you’re beginning to understand though. Why I didn’t leave the Horde even though you wanted me to. It was everything I ever knew, and at the time you were everything I needed. Wanted. You walked away from me, and it made me feel like I never mattered. That you never cared that you could replace me so easily. So when you had the audacity to ask me to leave everything I ever knew for you...it felt like a slap in the face.

Why would I give up what I knew for you when you could always leave me so easily?

I think I understand Kittrina’s feelings on that too. I know it’s more complicated than that. You said so yourself, that it wasn’t that you wanted to leave me, it was that you had to leave for yourself. So in that way...Mal had to leave for herself and probably couldn’t take Kittrina with her. And now? Kittrina has to leave for herself. Just like I had to leave for myself.

That’s why...it’s not fair for you to be jealous that I finally found the same connection that you did with Glimmer and Bow, but with Tab and the others. I think you might be able to get that now though. It’s not that you’ve stopped mattering to me. You aren’t less important to me. You just aren’t the only person in my life who’s important anymore. I’m sure you understand.

Yours,  
Catra

*

Ten years ago...

“Are you sure about this, your Highness?”  
“I thought I told you to stop being so stiff and formal with me, Tab.” He grinned easily.  
“Sorry,” They winced and then corrected themselves, “Von.”

“If people can always change for the worse,” Devon countered calmly, “we must believe they can also change for the better. If we never give him the opportunity to improve, how can we be disappointed by the fact that he hasn’t? Confronting him is the only way to bring things to light and give Uncle an opportunity to recognize his misdeeds have been seen and redeem himself.”

Tab groused. “I can’t help but feel like this is a mistake though. Princess De’va said~”

“The Throne will be gazed upon with green eyes.” Devon sighed. “She doesn’t know what it means exactly. She never does. All of the Cait Sith are dead or in hiding so she can’t sit with them to help her decipher it. I can either take cryptic words of warning and cower, or actions.”

Tab couldn’t help but feel it was a mistake. The pit in their stomach kept dropping but they didn’t have anything solid to explain it. Devon looked to them as they went through the halls of the palace. It was weird seeing it from the inside. Every wall was damaged in some way. All the rich fabrics were burned or missing completely. Precious metals were gone or melted in pools stuck to the heavy stone. Gems were probably looted. There was no doubt the castle had once looked beautiful in its heyday but now it was a shadow of itself.

“I have to thank you though. You got her eating. Walking. Talking. She isn’t back to herself yet, but my sister was able to give more than enough evidence to be pretty damning of my Uncle. She smiles now, sometimes, and her and Adam are getting along great. He actually proposed to her. I think, thanks to you, she’ll be able to be quite the fine noblewoman once things settle.”

“H-he’s fifteen, sir. Almost sixteen. She’s barely eighteen. Plus everythin’ that happened…” Tab paused “Is that wise?” Tab asked in concern.

“She did say yes.” Devon informed. Something in Tab’s heart dropped a little.  
“Under what circumstances though?”  
“What’s that supposed to mean exactly?” Tab tried not to sigh at how defensive he sounded.  
“I already warned you Von. You are a male. Makin’ demands. She was in the Dens, Von, think.”  
“I heard you but listen, she isn’t skittish around me anymore. She trusts me, feels safe with me.”  
“Or she’s hidin’ it because it ain’t ‘fair’ to be that way around her big brother.” Tab jabbed.

“Look, she’s a big girl.” Devon sounded annoyed now, “if she objected she could just tell me. I trust her judgement, that’s why I let her know Adam had my blessing, but it was her call.”

“Did you let her know that directly? Clearly?” Tab challenged.

“She knows me well enough to know what I mean.” Tab tried not to roll their eyes. “I know he likes her and she likes him. Seems like an ideal match. Why are you so invested anyways?”

“Because I sat with her nearly every day for over a year and saw her at her most traumatized, or did you forget that part?” Tab tried not to scowl. “Right. At that time, you comin’ in the room had her completely shuttin’ down and goin’ catatonic.” Devon growled lowly at that.

“I tried to be there for her as much as I could! It’s not my fault she couldn’t handle it!”

“Didn’t say it was. Just saying my experiences both with my own shit and seein’ hers second hand has me thinkin’ you still don’t fully get it and are still pushin’ your expectations on her. Don’t you think it’s a little early for things like this? You’re hopin’ she sees it as ‘big brother is lookin’ out for me’ and I’m tellin’ you she could just as easily read that situation as ‘he’s sellin’ me off like property’ and that could trigger her all over again to the point of her shuttin’ down!”

“Shut up!” Devon had heard enough, “At the end of the day she is a woman with Royal Blood who won’t get the crown! She has duties, Tabby! What am I supposed to do? Ignore that?”

“It doesn’t make sense to approach things like this, Von! It’s only going to hurt her!”  
“Who the hell is a lowly little mongrel like you to tell me what’s best for the Royal Family?”  
Tab opened their mouth then closed it. “Von…” they said, too shocked for more. He sighed.

“Listen Tab, I don’t mean to be cruel, but the Verse doesn’t stop just because my baby sister has.” Devon sighed, “The question of her marrying and having kittens will be inevitable. I can’t protect her from that forever. At least if it’s Adam we know she’ll be treated well. If she has one litter and can’t bring herself to do it ever again -- Eternia will be happy with only a couple Heirs and Panthera won’t be interested in De’va having more kids for the sake of our own throne.”

“Well, it’s still shit, Von.” Tab murmured dejectedly.

He stopped in front of a door. “I know. I do love my baby sister to hell and back, believe it or not, though I feel if I don’t push this decision for her now, someone else might try to make it for her.”

“Chief Carnivus?” Tab realized.

“He tried to get our mother to marry De’va to his son who was a bit older than her and Adam. Then he died, and Uncle wanted the match to be with him instead. I refuse to let him anywhere near her, but I can’t ensure that on my own. Adam’s suggestion just came at the right time.”

“He’s the last person she should be near.” Tab growled. “Nevermind what he might do to her.”

“Exactly.” Devon smiled warily. “Well, we just had our first argument, and you didn’t go all formal on me or deferred to my rank. I must say I feel that we should celebrate this when we get back to StarShip Eternia. The first time we felt and spoke truly like equals.”

“I think,” Tab sighed, still smarting at his jab, “that you were way out of line earlier.”

Devon scratched his nose and sighed. “Yeah...that was a low blow, wasn’t it? I’m an ass. Look, I’m sorry. How can I make it up to you?”

“For starters,” Tab declared, “never call me a ‘mongrel’ again.” Their nose twitched. “Anyways, we should focus on the task at hand first, Von. We can talk about the rest later.”

“Sure thing.” Devon chuckled. “I commend your dedication to her. Never lose that, please. Even after the marriage, I’ll see if I can personally appoint you as her aide if you’d be open to it. Someone who has her best interests at all times would be great for her to have by her side.” 

“Do you think Adam has her best interests at heart?”

“Hard to say.” Devon admitted. “His suggestion could be motivated by genuine affection, potential political gain, or as is often the case in these matters, an unknown mixture of both.”

“So she’s gonna to spend her life in a marriage made mostly for the sake of Eternia having influence in Panthera?” Tab sighed at that news. “That sounds...sad.”

“As the favourite saying goes, commoners marry for love, nobility for power.”  
“Does it have to be that way?”  
“When you have a Kingdom to look after?” Devon nodded. “I don’t like it, but it’s our reality.”

“She’s the thirteenth child though. Granted, many of your siblings are dead but,” Tab took a short breath “Shouldn’t she have had more freedom being that far down the line of succession?”

“Honestly? Yes. Frankly, I know she’s not cut out for this stuff. It’s in De’va’s blood but not her personality, or well,” he flushed, “what her general preferences tend to be if you get me?” 

Tab tilted their head at that, confused. “Preferences?”

“If I could give her anything she wanted,” Devon cleared his throat and continued on, “I’d let her marry whomever she pleased so long as they loved her more than she loved them and they treated her very well.” He then put his hand on the door before them. “Well...here we are.” 

“Long time no see, my dear Nephew.” Chief Carnivus was a tall Theran, bulky, strong. Threatening. He was a little too comfortable on what Tab quickly realized was the throne. Devon’s mismatched eyes narrowed.

“Get off my mother’s throne and let’s talk.” He hissed.

“No.” It screamed audacity, and Carnivus’ grin said it just as loudly. “I think you greatly misunderstand who has the power and authority here.” Then Tab noticed. His eyes. They were green. “I do.” Not only his, but the eyes of the ‘soldiers’ in the room with them were the blank green of Horde Mind control. “You said you wanted to talk about your traitorous sister?”

Tab looked to Devon, eyes wide. “The Throne will be gazed upon with green eyes.”

“Uncle...why are these people here?”  
“They’re under my control, there’s no need for ME to worry about that. You on the other hand...”  
“Just what do you plan on making them do?”  
“Are you slow, son? Or stupidly optimistic?”

“So…” Devon laughed. “I give you a chance to redeem yourself for the pain and suffering you’ve caused these last few years and…” It was a spiteful laugh of someone who knew his own shortsighted optimism did himself in. He shook his head. “This is your answer to me, Uncle?”

“Sunda isn’t giving me kittens. Not any possessing constitution, that is. Dead before one, all of them. Some dead before they even leave the womb.” Carnivus’ tail flicked with agitation, but he smiled. “This is quite unfortunate. After all, the throne needs an Heir, and none of my poor niblings are able to take it. They’re either dead, missing or crazed.

“I’m right here, you bastard!”  
“Holding my birth against me? Oh you wound me with how much you’re like your bitch mother.”  
“I am the Crown Prince of Panthera! The Son of C’yra D’Riluth the second! The Rightful Heir!”  
“Oh I know. As one elder brother to another: why should you get the very thing I was denied?”  
“Our circumstances were completely different. Don’t you dare compare me to you!”  
“Why, because your littermates and you had the same father and your mother and I didn’t?”  
“It goes way beyond that, now, Uncle. Far beyond.” Devon warned.

“Whatever. Anyways, I’m surprised your little sister is still alive after all that, but thank you for saving her.” Carnivus sighed. “I heard she fell down from a rooftop trying to run off one night? Really high up, apparently. Miracle she’s even alive. I wonder how that happened. Magic?”

“You had her pushed, didn’t you?” Devon’s voice was low and threatening.

“Never said they couldn’t.” Carnivus smirked. “I had hoped to make your search pointless, but, well, she’s somehow just paralyzed and not even completely, according to the Den that dragged her back. From a fall and a night of exposure in Terras’ cold night? What tenacity. It has me utterly fascinated. In love, even.” Carnivus folded his hands. “Any kittens she has would be rather uniquely powerful, wouldn’t they? Surely you’ve considered that possibility for yourself.”

“You’re disgusting.” Devon hissed. “Don’t talk about my little sister like that. Creep.”

“I mean, who would have expected that from a runt? She should have died first, nevermind outliving her entire litter.” His green eyes glowed. “Now, care telling where she is, or am I going to have to torture that out of you and your friend making your last moments rather miserable?”

Devon glanced backwards, passing something to Tab, closing their hands around it. “Manx. Get out of here. Take De’va as far from this place as you can. You hear me! Call the others, let them know what’s happening and get out of here! Now go!”

Tab squeezed their hands around the warm gem and watched Devon’s form shift and change. Carnivus shifted too, the size of a large lion, he lunged for Devon and Tab broke into a run, only to find the way into the audience chamber blocked by the controlled Therans. Tab backed up, looking to the two Therans tearing at each other. Watched Devon’s dark grey form snap at his Uncle’s red, lion like form, before pinning him down, attempting to tear at his neck.

“The window.” Tab breathed, then took off in a full blown sprint, past the two fighting toms. Devon was knocked aside. Tab could hear Carnivus gaining on them, skidding just ahead.

“I think not!”

Like hot metal. Tab felt him slice right through fabric and skin, catching them right by the shoulder, in an arch, down, down, to their hip. For a second they thought he would get their leg, tear it clean from their body until he was slammed by Devon into a wall.

“Run! Just keep running! Look after her!”

Tab didn’t have time to consider or think about the damage done. They just kept sprinting, covered their face with their arms as they threw themselves into the glass with as much force as they could, feeling relief when it broke around them. They then tumbled, head over heels, over and over before landing on their feet.

All four of them.

Then they were on two again, gasping, bleeding, the wound not as bad but still weeping profusely. Shoulder to hip. The length of it alone made it a serious wound. They looked at the reddish brown gem in their hand and then to the window they just broke through. They limped off as quickly as they could, fumbling for the radio on their opposite hip.

“SOS. This is Major Manx. We were ambushed. Prince Devon is fightin’. Please, we need help!”

They gasped for air, felt the blood rushing in their ears and collapsed.

*

“What would you do now, Von?” Mal murmured to herself, eyes closed.  
Glimmer looked over at her curiously. “You okay?”  
“Just...thinking about something.” Mal admitted. “Something Tab told me once.”  
“About?”  
“How my big brother died.” Mal’s eyes fluttered close. “Even facing death, Von held his ground.”  
“You think our situation’s gotten that bad?” Glimmer glanced around. “Should we go?”  
“Not yet.”

The Sigil on her left arm felt like it was on fire. A strange occurrence from someone who had such an intimate relationship with flame that she never got burned. Mal rubbed her shoulder for at least the fourth time that minute alone, worry tingling in the back of her mind.

“Your Majesty, do you have an update yet?” Asked the Gar Governor. His intrusion on Glimmer and Mal’s quiet moment broke the Pantheran Queen’s reverie. Mal shook her head.

“I sent an SOS,” Mal looked at Sy-Klone, at how his face was drawn, “but my allies, our closest fleet, specifically, they’re almost two days out. When do you think--”

The loud blaring of an alarm answered her question. Better than she wanted. Glimmer was startled by the sound, but put her hand on Mal’s shoulder. Any moment she could give the word and Glimmer would get them out of here.

The screen lit up and all four of them in that room frowned at the monitor.

“A dozen,” Sy-Klone murmured, “two...three...forty. Forty eight.” His brow creased with stress and worry. “Forty-eight combatant ships in our airspace. Probably more in the atmosphere who haven’t entered. He brought an Armada. How the hell did they sneak up on us?”

“Portals. They have portals..” Glimmer realized, eyes wide. “This is Chief Carnivus right?”  
“Yes.” Mal wrapped both hands around her cane. “It probably is.”  
“How come you didn’t tell me, Adora, Entrapta and Bow he had a bunch of Horde Tech?”  
Mal looked away. “It slipped my mind to mention it.”  
“It slipped your MIND?” Glimmer gaped. “Have you lost yours?”

“I hate to interrupt a proper dress down but,” Sy-Klone frowned, “Five of those ships are coming for us now. Has Prince Adam gotten back to you?”

Mal sighed. “I sent an SOS.”  
“And?”  
Mal frowned. “They’re coming.”  
“What did Prince Adam say? Did he give an ETA? Or any ideas on how to hold this line?”  
Mal flinched. “I didn’t get Adam.” Glimmer frowned at that. “They’re over a day out.”  
“What did Adam say to you directly?” Sy-Klone looked at her imploringly. Mal grew flustered.  
“He didn’t respond,” all eyes were on her, curious, “it was the commander of a nearby fleet.”  
“Don’t you have a direct line to the Crown Prince of Eternia?”  
“Look, that is the best I’ve got right now.” She bowed her head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s going to be too late though!” Sy-Klone insisted. “Doesn’t Eternia have portal technology?”  
“Yes, but not wide spread.”  
“So I put my faith in a faction that’s on the verge of splitting!” Sy-Klone grumbed. “Just great!”

“It’s not what it looks like,” Mal’s voice wavered, and she crossed her hands over her cane, they were shaking, “let’s just trust in Adam. Please? I know he won’t let us just die here.”

“What makes you so sure? Neither Therans nor Gar ever meant a thing to Eternians!”  
“But I~” Mal caught herself. Suddenly guilt shadowed her face, “nevermind. We’ll figure it out.”

“I can teleport probably all of us somewhere safe,” Glimmer cut in, “then we just have to figure out a way to leave the planet in one piece.”

“You’d be shot down.” Sy-Klone dismissed.  
“Well it’s better than arguing about it or giving Mal grief!” Glimmer bit back.  
“If we weren’t surrounded, I’d get my own troops out there but they’d be shot as they launched.”

“Governor!” Came a call from one of the Servants. “There’s a Theran woman at the gates. She claims to be Princess Kittrina.” Upon hearing that name, Mal rushed to her feet. Glimmer looked at her and she instead willed her legs to move as quickly as possible. To the front of the castle, almost tumbling down the steps as she got there, breathless, to see that face.

Bloody. Bruised. But it definitely was her. She was petting Claudine’s head, the small Astral Lion nuzzling against the teenager’s leg, cooing, both affectionately and to soothe her.

“Claudine led me here.” She began, looking at the small lion, “She keeps getting smaller and smaller lately. That isn’t a good thing, is it Auntie?”

“Trina.” Mal breathed softly. “Sweetheart.” Kittrina’s expression turned cold at first as Mal approached her slowly, taking her in, then slowly reached out to cup her face. Kittrina raised her hand, claws out, slashing deep into Mal’s arm. Her breath hitched, but she moved her hand very slowly and pulled Kittrina into a hug.

“Not very sweet, am I?” She hissed.

“Sometimes that’s just how things change you, love.” Mal murmured softly, pressing a kiss to her temple. There was a pause, but she felt Kittrina’s tears. “Did you bring him here?”

“Of course I did.”  
“So he’s here for me then?”  
“Of course he is.”  
“What did you ask for in exchange?”  
“To be free and to leave Ancle Tabby alone. But he -- he lied about it all. Ancle Tabby is -- is...”

Mal felt a cold child down her spine. “Sy-Klone,” she called behind her, “I don’t think winning is going to happen today, but we can at least get out of here with our lives. That’s possible.”

Sy-Klone sounded annoyed at that, but he shook his head. “I guess I’ll have to accept that.”

“Wait! I have an idea.” Glimmer looked at Sy-Klone, “they’re smaller ships, right?”  
“The ones around this castle? Yes.”  
“Can anyone stay in the sky?”  
“I can.”  
“Play decoy for me.” Glimmer disappeared in a shower of light. Mal held her breath.

“We’ll be back.” Sy-Klone called as he jogged through the front gates. Just as he was outside, the wind whipped around him. He let himself be launched in the air with a controlled cyclone of air. The ships immediately began firing at him and he used the wind to deflect.

A pink pop of light. Then a bolt through an engine. One. Sy-Klone gathered his wind together, catching one in the draft and throwing it into a spire. Two. Another pop of light and down went four. He felt elated, sending a blast of wind at the next just as Glimmer came down with her magic staff, spiking it through the fuel tank. Three.

He got shot in the back, and grunted, but before he could turn on the fourth, a blast of flame incinerated it. He looked to the ground to find Mal, her hand raised, panting for breath.

“Stay sharp!” Glimmer declared taking out another ship before they both turned on the fifth and last one. He ripped its wings apart. Glimmer took out its tail. They glanced around the destruction, and he landed on the ground.

“I retract my previous statement. It seems you have some rather powerful friends, Princess De’va. We might be able to win this after all.”

“Let’s just focus on living and getting out of here in one piece.” Mal reiterated. “I can get myself and your Princess to safety, along with Kittrina and Glimmer. I can’t guarantee anyone else.”

“You can’t truly guarantee even what you’ve promised here, can you?”

“Tab is the better tactician. If Tab is…” Mal laughed nervously unable to speak it, “my hands might be tied. W-we need to find Tab. Then we need to figure out what happens next.”

“Auntie De’va,” Kittrina began her eyes on the ground, “I’m really sorry.”  
“It’s okay, Trina. Auntie’s going to protect you like she should have from the start.”  
Kittrina allowed herself to be drawn close. “It’s not all your fault you know.” She whispered.  
“Shh, honey, it’ll be fine.” Mal let her fingers run through Kittrina’s hair. “We’ll figure this out.”

“Well,” Sy-Klone sighed, “you bought me some time.” He turned to his servant, “tell our ships to scramble!” Then he turned back to the group, “once we get in the sky, we’ll be able to help.”

“How many ships?” Mal questioned, planning a way to counter.  
“I have twenty. All of them are one crew fighters though. No dreadnaughts.”  
“That might be enough with our four and the Purrsia. It won’t be easy though.”

“Ready to go?” Glimmer called, appearing in a shower of sparkles. Holding her hand was the half-Gar Half-Theran girl, Saz. Mal held Kittrina’s hand and nodded. “Where to first?”

“Where was Tab last, Trina?” Mal asked Kittrina. She frowned, looking away.  
“By the Harbour.” Kittrina murmured.  
“Glimmer?” Mal deferred.

Glimmer warped them. They felt everything shift and swirl around them before they found the ground again. Mal stumbled and staggered before Kittrina helped steady her.

“I think it’s best we don’t stay long.” Glimmer suggested, “I know you want to look but if he’s~”  
“The smell of blood is really strong here.” Mal interrupted.  
Glimmer’s lips ptress tight together. “Can your sense of smell tell who’s blood?”

Mal walked ahead a few paces, as if in a daze and knelt on the ground. Glimmer rushed over only to find a streak of blood. Mal put her hand into it, then brought it up to her nose. Her tail went limp. Glimmer looked with her at the terrible sight.

A few meters away from that initial smear on the ground was a pool of blood. Then a long set of bloody streaks up and over the edge of the wall to the water. Kittrina gasped, then began to hiccup and sputter as Mal put the sight before them in context.

“They...they were dragged.” Mal breathed, “into the water.” She shook her head. “No.” Slightly at first, then more violently. “This is some kind of sick joke, right?” 

Kittrina watched Mal stand up, staggering to the water’s edge with worry. There was no sign of Tab there at all. “Maybe they swam? They could have swam away to safety, Aunt De’va.”

“No. They wouldn’t have.” Mal informed matter of fact.

“Don’t be like that Auntie!” Kittrina was trying hard to hold on hope, “There’s always the chance!”

“Not when Tab’s a weak swimmer.” Mal responded, then laughed, a truly frightening laugh. Her cane slipped from her hands, hitting the ground with a thud as she put both of them on her head, breathing heavily, her legs trembled beneath her and she swayed dangerously, with no balance, almost certain to fall. “No.” She echoed, as flames began to lick along her legs and up her back. She let out a bloodcurdling scream, and the flames grew massively, turning bright white and forming a shape.

Four legs. Two tails. Three runes marked on its face: one on each cheek. The other on its forehead. Vivid, magenta eyes and a roar that brought everyone to its knees that sounded like a scream. Ships nearby -- three of them, flew close to the giant creature that had suddenly appeared at the harbour, and just as soon as they did, they all caught aflame.

The creature disappeared. Claudine did as well. Mal fell to her knees, dazed and sobbing.

“Well,” Glimmer was rushing to gather them all together, “if they didn’t know where we were, they sure do now!” She grabbed Saz by the wrist, looked at Kittrina who did the same to Mal, wounding an arm around her Aunt and then latching onto Glimmer. “Time to go!”

*

Starla nearly slammed into her sister’s back when she came to a full stop. Abruptly. Out of nowhere. She squeaked, and instinctively, Tallstar turned around and caught her by the waist steadying her before Starla could, in her usual clumsy way, fall to the ground. She took a shaky breath, looking up at Tallstar.

“Sis?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Tallstar asked what had to be at least the thirtieth time. Starla flushed and nodded slowly. “Kittrina, she...didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“She was mean.” Starla admitted. “A little rough but she could have done a lot worse.” Starla’s gentle eyes searched her sister’s face. “You know her a bit better. Is she really a bad person?”

Tallstar set her jaw rigid, looking up to the sky, to the literal dozens of airships appearing over the city they had just snuck out of. “I don’t think she is one. Yet. Certainly becoming though. She’s been doing a lot of bad things, but I always got the sense that she was just really angry.”

“About what?”

“You know how the world isn’t always fair?” Tallstar patted Starla’s hair, earning a pout, “well, not everyone’s like you Starla. They can’t keep being kind no matter what happens. Some people lash out. Sometimes towards the very people who were helping them out the most.”

“Tallstar?” Starla spoke the words that she wished she didn’t have to hear, didn’t have to confront, “are you sure you’re okay leaving it like this? The people who were helping you? And Kittrina? What about their promise to find Jewelstar? Or all the innocent people in the city?”

“Am I really okay being her ‘Selfish Little Hume’?” Tallstar scowled. “I hate that kid.” She put a hand to her face and chuckled as she closed her eyes. “We need to go back.” Starla’s eyes lit up. “Don’t leave my sight, okay?”

“You got it!”

*

Catra saw it as they ran towards the pier. Large. Towering. Surrounded by magenta flames. Bearing two tails. Adora stopped sprinting to gawk and was nearly bowled over by terrified denizens who were trying to run away from the giant ‘demon cat’. They saw several Therans among the group. Many frozen in shock, others bowing deeply to the spectre.

“It’s the Grimalkin!”  
“The Goddess Lynx is letting it punish us all for our sins!”  
“Goddess Lynx, please forgive our sins! Cleanse us of our transgressions! Protect us from evil!”

“Catra,” Adora looked up to the sky as it took on an ominous, deep purple colour as black clouds filled the sky, “what is that thing?” Catra gaped as the image of the strange creature she once saw in that false Fight Zone yowled so loudly it was deafening. Lightning, bright and white filled the air with a flash and the scent of ozone. The thunder was as loud as the creature’s screams.

“Grimalkin.” Catra breathed.  
“That thing’s Mal!?” Adora looked at her, incredulously.  
“Sort of and...not really. I think.”

As it disappeared almost as suddenly as it appeared, they saw several planes head in that direction, and then a much larger ship which blotted out the sun above them.

“Safe to assume they’re the bad guys?” Adora looked to Catra.  
“Well, they don’t exactly look too friendly.”

“We’re getting everyone out safely, Catra. I mean it. Everyone.” Adora pointed the sword to the sky. “For the Honour of Greyskull!”

*

“Entrapta, this is Bow. Things are looking pretty dicey out here. What’s your status?”

[Currently they don’t seem to know we’re at the bottom of the bay. The Purrsia is fully submerged, my ears have popped from the increased pressure, and I see no sign of Tom, Mog or Wordak on my monitors.]

[Look, I got to my ship just fine, okay?] Mog began, [but they’re directly on top of me. I take off my cloak and get into the air and I’m a sitting duck. Can’t someone run interference?]

[Things aren’t as dire here, but there’s more than a few to make takeoff challenging.] Came Tom’s cool voice. [Hang tight while I try to figure out something.]

[Look, I’m beginning to think,] Mog sounded worried, [They might have some technology indicating the general vicinity of where my ship is.]

[Were,] Wordak’s voice was small, gentle, [any of the forces here with the Horde before?] He asked timidly, [As in mind controlled with chips?]

[You mean to tell me it’s you they’re tracking!?] Mog growled. [This is ALL your fault!]  
[It could just as easily be you as well, Little Brother. I saw the chip on your neck.]  
[I’m not your Brother! I’d rather shoot myself than be Carnivus’ or anyone’s mindless slave!]  
[...Again you mean?] Wordak asked curiously.  
[Sh-shut up!]

[Don’t blow a gasket, Mog, we haven’t lost yet. Focus.] Tom reminded, ever the voice of reason.  
“Someone is going to have to help me make sense of all that.” Bow politely reminded.

[Sorry. I’ll give you the high points.] Tom offered. [Carnivus takes in anyone with a chip and has them join his militia. That’s how it’s made up of mostly Therans even though he’s working with Randor. That means the reason Mog and Wordak are pinned is because they can sense they’re nearby, but probably can’t figure out their exact location. Otherwise they’d be shooting.]

[So this...Carnivus is controlling the chips? Those Therans aren’t free like I am?] Wordak asked.  
[Don’t change the subject clone!] Mog snapped.

“No…” Bow realized the bigger picture. “They’re tracking all of the fighters with any sort of repurposed Horde Tech, aren’t they?” Bow shook his head. “Then it’s only a matter of time before they find the Purrsia since the Clawdeen-Nu is on it. Entrapta!”

[I haven’t worked with that ship as closely, but I believe there is a way to turn the onboard systems for that offline.] Entrapta proposed. [But once we do, I’m not sure how anyone is going to use it.]

[Entrapta, Tell the AI to disable all Nerv link functions for the Clawdeen-Nu.] Tom directed. [That should make it untraceable] Tom’s calm voice suggested. [Mal will have to manually boot them, or fly without. She’s a skilled enough pilot to manage both. As for you Mog? You and Wordak are stuck, but the Gentle Giant doesn’t have that tech. As soon as there is an opening…]

Bow watched as a large figure grew and grew until it blotted out the sun, and then yeowled in a curtain of flames. “Kind of like….a giant transformed Theran mirage thing?”

[Shit. Well, take what you can get!] Tom cussed, then called loudly, [This is Maine! Launching!]

“Hey...Entrapta,” Bow ducked when he heard blaster fire overhead, and spotted one of their fighters, Tom’s, “do you think you can come up with something for those mind controlled chips?”

[Can I? Of course! It’s certainly in my ability. Will I be able to though? That requires resources!]

“What do you need?” Bow asked as he jumped to the next rooftop, looking, searching. Where were they? Glimmer. Adora. Catra? Any of them.

[Removing chips that are far gone isn’t possible, but if you plug into their neural network, I can trace back to the host, copy it’s pathway structures and create a program that will systematically disable the network itself rendering it incapable of accessing the chips. Most of the framework for that already exists from Mog’s own work on the chips he and Tab have and how he disabled them. Plus the improvements I personally made to the process based on my work with Wordak and the other clones! The only problem is we will need to find an access point so we can~]

“I hate to rush your brilliance, but I need to know what to do right now! Can you make it simple?”

Entrapta sighed. [They are connected to a giant computer. If you get one of them I can get access to that computer and make a virus. Then we can find something that is transmitting to their chips and upload the virus.]

“Got it! Thanks Entrapta!”

[Sah-weet! Frigging hell! Thank you Tom! Moggie Blue in the Swordfish-Two launching! Let’s not die today boys!]

“He’s a little too excited.” Bow mused as he shimmied down a ladder, back to the ground, looking, searching for those haunting Horde Green eyes. He looked around the panicking citizens, the Therans praying, and stopped when he felt like something...no, someone was hunting him down.

Bow reached for his arrows and bow and spun around, just to see a towering Theran above him, claws posed. He shot off two of them quickly. The first was a goo arrow around the Theran’s claws. The second, a stun arrow.

Electricity crackled along skin and fur, and laughter escaped.

“Nifty little trick, Hume.” A sniff. “You’re one of those Etherians, aren’t you, boy? The name is Chief Carnivus. Would you happen to know where my dear sweet nieces are?”

Bow said nothing, merely pulling more arrows out as the man roared at him and charged.

*

“The Sea!” Glimmer was throwing her arms up in the air in disbelief. “I get being in the middle of the sea. Or on the sea! Hovering over the sea! That all makes sense!” She pulled soaked hair out of her eyes and spat out water. “Who the hell decides to put a ship UNDER THE sea! On purpose!”

Kittrina was soaked. She was still holding her Aunt with one arm, wrapped about her shoulders who was shivering. “He’d shoot us out of the sky if we even tried to get up there. Ancle Tabby is probably thinking~” Mal made a strange sound and Kittrina sighed, “WAS probably thinking it would give you time to punch through and make a dash out of here.”

[You made it back! Welcome!] Entrapta greeted. [Now would be a good time to get into your ship. The others are having trouble! I’ll start resurfacing us right now!]

Mal struggled to her feet, grasping one of the ribs of the Purrsia’s walls, her knees threatening to buckle. Kittrina offered the cane, but she brushed it off. “Time is...precious.”

“Aunt De’va…” Kittrina watched her limp off, “where are you going?”

Before she could answer, Saz slumped over with fear, her golden eyes filling with tears. Mal sighed, turning to the younger of the two girls with her and Glimmer, drawing her into a hug.

“It’s going to be okay.” Mal spoke so gently and softly to the young girl. “We’re going to make it out. I promise. Here.” She offered her hand and led the girl up the catwalk, and to the crew quarters, Glimmer and Kittrina following closely behind. She led them to her room, not caring for the mess. She briefly glanced for some sign of pills around but found it empty. She reached for the bottle she had on her and rattled it. Also Empty.

“Your legs?” Glimmer asked, her voice low.

“We’ll worry about that later. I can grin and bear -- adrenaline is a hell of a high.” She sat Saz down on the bed and smiled as she struggled to kneel to catch her eyes. “Hey. We’re going to be okay. I need you to stay here for a bit and Trina or I will get you later, okay?” the girl nodded. Mal turned to Glimmer and Kittrina holding out her hands. “The Hangar.” She demanded.

“Got it.”

They had landed a little roughly in the hangar, and Mal immediately shuffled to a closet and without ceremony she tore off her dress ripping the fabric carelessly, then the boots and gloves, revealing metal prosthetics, underwear and scars with little care as she reached for a full body suit and began tugging it on.

“Aunt De’va,” Kittrina called again, “you’re not going out there to fight, are you?”  
“Can YOU fly this thing?” Mal sniped.  
“Well no, I can’t I~”  
“Then I guess I’m going out there.”

“Do you even have a plan, Mal?” Glimmer asked softly. “Because right now I think you’re just going out there for the sake of blowing off some steam and I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”

“You’re worried I’m going to join Tab? Don’t. Enough people get hurt protecting me or because of me.” Mal pulled her arms through to the gloves in the suit. “We’re going to end this here. Now. With his blood on my hands!”

“You can’t go after uncle! That’s suicide!” Kittrina protested.

Mal scoffed. “And now you care?” Kittrina recoiled like she had been burnt. “You always said you didn’t care if I died. Let me end this nightmare! It doesn’t matter if I go with him! Then both of us are gone, just like you’ve always wanted. You can take the throne too for all I care.”

Kittrina’s eyes fell to her feet. “I’m sorry. I never meant for it to go this far. I just thought he would take you and leave everyone alone!” Her breath was shaky. “I hate you!” She screamed, her voice shill. “I hate you so much!” Kittrina tugged at her hair. “I decided to ignore what he would actually do! Thought he would actually keep his word! I knew better but...” Mal sighed as she picked up her helmet and walked up to Kittrina. “And now Ancle Tabby is dead and more people are going to get hurt! Innocent people! It’s all my fault!” She looked up when Mal raised her hand, then winced, anticipating, waiting for a blow. Instead, she got a soft pat on the head.

“You’re a dumbass kid.” Mal murmured gently. “But your Sunda’s dumbass kid. My little niece.”  
“I’m so sorry Auntie.”  
“Stop beating yourself up and start thinking what you can do to fix some of this, will you?”  
“I’m sorry.” Kittrina echoed.

“You’re pretty young, so I think you’ll grow out of your idiocy.” She messed up the young Theran’s hair and got a pout. “You know, when it has nothing to do with me or Chief Carnivus, you aren’t half bad. Your mother is always telling me what a sweet natured kitten you actually are deep down. While I do wish I could see that version of you, I do understand.” 

“Aunt De’va?” Kittrina looked up at her questioningly and Mal smiled at her softly.

“Anger is a very strong emotion. It can help you survive. If you’re careful not to let it consume you, anger will fuel you through hell for years.” Kittrina stared up at her wide eyed, “So... if you need to be angry at me to get through to the other side of this, so be it.” Mal let her hand drift to Kittrina’s cheek, “stay angry, and when you know you’re safe and you can finally let that fire die, and feel something else other than rage? Know that I’ll be in your corner when you’re finally ready to move forward, to be whole and healthy again.” She reached up with her right hand, and awkwardly brushed away dark bangs to press a brief kiss to Kittrina’s forehead.

Stunned, the young Theran fell to her knees. Mal pulled away, heading for her craft. “But why?”  
“Why what?” Mal slung her helmet over her shoulder. “Does there have to be a why?”

“I hated you! Even though you got me out! I was so angry that you abandoned my mother! I went to Randor and Uncle like an idiot!” She was crying now. “I wanted you to pay! To suffer!”

“So much so that you were willing to hurt yourself to do it?” Mal asked evenly.  
“Yes!” She choked out.  
“To kill people?”

“Yes!” Kittrina wiped at her face messily. “I haven’t done it myself yet, but I know that there are at least a few people who died because of me. You know it too! I almost killed Mog?”

“Were your convictions so strong you would have given anything?”  
“I would have given the world to save mother from him and make you suffer for abandoning us!”  
“Was revenge worth your innocence?” Mal glanced backwards. “Your life maybe? Your soul?”  
“If that’s what it took to make you pay…” she sobbed. Mal sighed, looking up to the ceiling.  
“And now?” Mal asked quietly.  
“I don’t know! I just feel so...lost.”

“The worst part is that when you’re at your absolute lowest, you’re willing to trade anything just to see someone bleed the way you did.” Mal chuckled. “Then things change. Circumstances change, you as a person change and you start to realize the enormity of what you gave up for something so short sighted wasn’t worth the cost.” Mal grinned. 

“Why...Why are you helping me?”

“Well, I did tell your older cousin I was always going to come home, so I guess I have to follow through now.” Mal chuckled awkwardly. “It’s not like I’m really doing this for you, Trina.”

“What about doing it for Ancle Tabby?” Mal only sighed at that question. “I’m sorry Aunt De’va. I don’t mean to pick at such a fresh wound. You always seemed happy with them. Maybe you’ll be with them in your next life? I hope that’s the case and that it’s peaceful, happy and simple.”

“You’re funny, you know that, k-kid?” Mal brushed off, but her voice broke on the last word.  
“Aunt De’va?” Kittrina blinked. Mal kept her back turned to her. “Did I say something wrong?”  
“Don’t worry about it.” Mal’s voice went back to a cool, detached normal.

“You know,” Glimmer gave a slight smile. “We didn’t see them in the water.” Glimmer tried to give that brief chance of hope. “Maybe there’s a chance Tab’s okay, right?”

Mal didn’t answer. She just crammed her helmet over her head and began climbing the ladder into the cockpit. She looked to find them standing there, slowly retreating to a safe distance.

[We should be at a depth where you can launch at soon.] Entrapta told her.

“Roger.”

Mal sighed as a timer appeared on her dash and she began booting up all the systems, reaching behind her to link the dummy plug. She felt it, like a bolt of electricity through her spine. She grimaced, then closed her eyes as the countdown continued.

“Grimalkin.” She spoke to the silence, “Or do you prefer to be called Lynx?” She paused. “Which one are you truly? Who’s the real you? The Vengeful Mother or the Merciful Goddess?” She closed her eyes and listened to the silence.

In it she found an answer, her eyes opening just as she heard a call.

[Glimmer and the other one are safe and out of the hangar, and we’re at a depth where you can launch. Ready when you are.]

“I guess I have been stubborn. I always knew the answer right from the start. For you. For myself. We’re the same that way. We are both. The Demon and the Goddess. The Witch and the Princess. The Whore and the Queen.” Mal’s lips quirked. “We’ve always been. I’ll honor that about myself from now on.” Mal wrapped her hands around the joystick and flicked on both engines. She paused when she saw something. A letter tucked at the corner of the dash in familiar, messy handwriting. Tab’s. She picked it up and opened it. The letter was brief, but it made her smile despite herself. She took a breath. “I know what I want to carry with me now. Who I want to carry with me.” She sighed, centering herself. “Entrapta! I’m good to go!”

The engines roared in her ears. The hangar doors eased open, letting seawater flow in. She had only one shot to have a smooth take off. Anything less than perfect would mean a slow ascent making her exposed to the enemy. She found herself focusing, vision tunneling.

“This is Malva Manx in the Clawdeen-Nu.” She declared. “Launching!”

*

“ADORA! This is nuts!”  
“Just hold tight Catra! I promise I won’t drop you!”

She-Ra was running and all Catra could do was wrap her arms around Adora’s neck as they leapt from building, to building, each one a little taller than the next. Then, Adora leapt what had to be over a hundred feet. Catra was going to be sick at this rate.

They landed on the dreadnought, and Catra was quick to her feet as soldiers rushed them. Therans with glowing green eyes.

“They’re being controlled!” Catra called back to Adora. Adora stayed her hand then, hitting with the flat of her blade. Catra was quick to pull back, but they weren’t, and she found herself getting knocked about.

[If they aren’t holding back, you can’t either!] Came a voice over their comms.  
“Mog! You’re alright! Where’s everyone else?” Catra called.

[Doing whatever the hell we can!] He sounded stressed and they saw a red ship zoom past landing hard hits to the wing of the ship they were on. [Don’t die, okay?]

Catra dived, then rolled under another and struck hard, right at their chest. The Theran fell limp and Catra tried not to think about it too much, and sighed when she ended up back to back with Adora, who passed her a long staff.

“They had it. Gotta be resourceful, right?” Catra smiled at that, twirling the staff and landing a cracking blow against a mind controlled Theran’s head. They pushed further into the ship then, exhausting themselves as they went for the bridge and she and Adora cleared out the soldiers there, leaving them knocked out or worse. Catra then began messing around with the controls.

“What are you doing?”  
“Not all of his forces are Therans.” Catra pointed out. “Maybe they’ll stop if…”

Catra pressed a button and a video feed came up of another ship. An Eternian man looked at Catra and he in turn looked at her. He had reddish hair and an equally as red beard, his brown eyes focused on her, scrutinizing.

“You’re not one of Carnivus’ zombies.”  
“That’s right!” Catra informed. “I’m with the Queen of Panthera!”

The man looked bored. “What do you want? We don’t take orders from you. Carnivus is our Admiral until King Randor tells us differently.”

“Is that so? My best friend’s with me. You know, on this planet you’re attacking.”  
“That’s not my problem. Good luck to you, Theran.”

“It will be your problem once King Randor finds out you attacked his daughter.” Catra turned to Adora who approached them, still in her form as She-Ra. The man on the screen gasped.

“You’re She-ra.” He murmured. “There’s been rumours. Since Prince Adam came back to the Eternian Empire and said you were alive.” That threw Catra and Adora for a loop and they exchanged glances.

“Adam is with you?” Adora asked.

“He returned a fortnight ago.” The General smiled. “We’ve been meaning to have a celebration for him, but he insisted he would not do it without his beloved sister.”

“If you won’t listen to my order to stop this attack,” Adora returned back to her normal form, walking up closer to the screen, “then put me in touch with King Randor or Adam. Now.”

“Am I supposed to believe this isn’t some Theran trick?” The man turned back to Catra, “your kind is rather proficient with illusion magic. How do I know this is the real Princess Adora?”

Adora’s eyes glowed with rage.

“Listen. I’m going to take out a bunch of these ships.” She declared. “Then I’m going to find your ship and come after you.” She threatened, pointing at the screen. “Then you can tell ME whether or not I’m the real Adora of Eternia!” She turned to Catra. “Cut the feed. Now.”

Catra did just that, then turned to face Adora, finding She-Ra again, her eyes glowing white.

“Let’s go, Catra. I said we’re getting everyone out of here safely, didn’t I?”  
“Right.”  
“We can’t waste any more time then.”

“Normally you don’t like to do things this way.” Catra pointed out, running to catch up to the furious Adora. “Normally you’re all like ‘let’s not use violence if we don’t have to, it’s wrong’ and all that girl scout crap. When the heck did that change?”

“When your attempt to use the peaceful way didn’t work.”

*

“That was one of my dreadnaughts. Interesting.” Chief Carnivus’ voice rumbled as he looked up to a smoking ship heading into the bay. He frowned. “You’ve got some powerful friends, boy. I was expecting resistance. I might have underestimated how much though. Slightly.”

Bow looked up from his bruised face but said nothing, merely watching the giant of a Theran as he clapped a hand on his shoulders and shoved him forward. “Anyways, the biggest threat to me getting what I want is gone now.”

Bow glared. “What would that be?”

“Major Tabby Manx. A tenacious nobody with enough dumb luck to make a Rear Admiral sweat. You’d swear that the son of a bitch was blessed by the Goddess Lynx or something.” Carnivus chuckled at that. “Ridiculous, isn’t it? Manx is clever, I’ll give that. Too bad they’re dead now. Would have loved to see if I could have reactivated that Horde Chip. See the devastated face of my niece when she realizes it.”

Bow tried not to flip out, to panic, but he was furious. Quiet. He looked to see Carnivus holding his bows and arrows in a tight grip. “What would you do if you had them both?” He had to keep this jerk talking while he made a plan. If he was lucky, Carnivus would get too confident. Too lax and leave him alone with a clone or two. That should be enough. After that, he could think about how in the heck he was going to get out of this mess.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to hurt De’va too much as she tries to fight me off.” Carnivus’ smile turned salacious, “I was thinking if I could control Manx, maybe I’d have them help? My niece does love that weird little Theran to pieces. She wouldn’t fight Manx, would she?”

This man was a creep. Bow wanted to throw up.

“She would probably be devastated to even have to try.” Bow admitted quietly.  
“Exactly, and given her history, something like that should take all fight out of her.”

He wasn’t paying attention as closely. Bow noticed, but he was wary of those large ears, how they could pick up the slightest of sounds. He rolled the one thing Carnivus hadn’t taken from him. A small cube. A transmitter, and began typing with Morse.

Captured. By. Enemy. Commander. Being. Taken. To. Different. Location.

Carnivus’ ears stood up on end. Like he was aware there was some sound, that Bow might be doing something. He towered over the young man and inhaled deeply, looking at him, his tied hands and deciding he had found...nothing.

Carnivus hummed, his hand landing on Bow’s shoulder as he leaned his giant frame down to examine him. “You know, you’re not too bad looking. I wonder if my men want a chew toy?”

“You’re not going to get away with this!” Bow glared.

“Why? Will your friends stop me?”  
“She-Ra and everyone on the ship will. Believe me.”  
“Thank you for letting me know you aren’t disposable. Now I know I have a suitable hostage.”

Cold sweat broke along Bow’s brow as he was now tripping over his own feet as Carnivus led him to a rundown building. Another church of Lynx. He was led to the back and up several flights of stairs that made up where the organ room should have been and led to where the top of the bell tower would be. Here there was a reinforced room -- the walls, metal. Several monitors filled the room but it was mostly empty. Except for the presence. Several Therans with blank green eyes stared at him when he was shoved forward.

“Hello children!” He called out to them jovially, “Daddy has a little toy for you. Chew him up a little, but leave him alive, would you? Daddy has to go back to the field to get your step-mother.”

Carnivus practically threw Bow forward into their arms, and he yelped, then jumped when he heard the door slam, sending the room into darkness with only the glow of the mind controlled Therans’ eyes and their low, menacing, hungry growls.

*

“Get off my ass!” The scream he let past his lips was practically primal. Moggie Blue was not having a good day. In fact, he hadn’t had a good week. Or a good month. The moment he realized he was in a situation where the ship was run by the whims of a bunch of fucking Royals, he should have honestly walked off the Purrsia and tell them all to fuck off.

“Three of them now? What the hell!” He hit his boosters, ignoring the screams over his radio.

[Mog! Stay away from the City! MOG!]

“Shut up old man. If Civs are involved, that’s the Queen and the Chief’s fault, not mine, I’m just trying not to die today.” He grunted, moving quickly and recklessly through the high reaching towers. His vision was full, complete, with the dummy plug connected, and the ship was sensitive to his every command. He barely turned sideways between two spires, losing one of the ships, then pulled himself up, and up at ninety degrees, towards the suns of the planet, to the atmosphere.

“You guys don’t have normal suits on, do you? That was a big mistake.” He grinned as they kept pursuing him, and that grin grew as they began to fall off. “What’s wrong? Air a little too thin up here?” He turned abruptly then, and began picking them off one by one.

His joy only lasted seconds when a large blaster streamed past him, the aftershock knocking him off course and scrambling his sensors. He looked up to see a large warship and was all too glad he had taken a bathroom break before all this happened.

“Guys! Right in the Atmosphere is a Nimetz Class! This is bad news!” He saw its cannon charging again and put himself into an immediate dive, blacking out for a second from the gravitational forces. “AAH! Shit!” He looked around, here, on the edge of the planet and space and his yellow-green eye widened as he went into a tailspin, trying to recover while the ship slowly pursued.

“Fuck you! Fuck you all! I’m not going to die here! Not like this! Not after everything!”

[At your nine o’clock,] came a cool voice, [there’s a river. How quickly can you get there?]

Mog froze when he heard that familiar voice. His hands gripped his joysticks just a little harder. He took a deeper breath. “When the fuck did you join us, your Majesty?”

[Argue later.] His question was annoyingly dismissed. [Can you get to that river or not, Mog?]  
“I can. Real question is why the hell would I want to?”

[Because I don’t want you to die and I’m pretty sure you don’t want your grave to be on Anwat-Gar.] There was a shaky sigh. [We lost Tab. I’m not losing anyone else today.]

He directed himself towards the river, gritting his teeth. “The Captain? Really? You’re lying.”

[You know, when it comes to this? I pray to the Goddess that I am.] Mog found himself wincing. How her voice sounded on the verge of sobs. Instead he remained silent and Mal’s voice went back to cool and calm. [Everyone, formation Delta!] There was a beep showing him where his position would be. [Then I’ll need you all on me. I’m sending you all a plan. Follow my lead, but make improvisations as the situation dictates.]

“What happened to never wanting to be in command of our little company?” Mog grumbled.  
[Tom and Percy are assassins by trade. Battlefield tactics is something all Royals learn.]  
“You’re saying it has to be you?” He was arguing just to be a contrarian. “Upper class shithead.”

[Mog, I won’t lie: you’re the smartest Theran I have ever known, but you’re a scientist first, not a military officer.] Mal admitted, [This is beyond you in the same way I can’t make heads or tails of most of your schematics. This is an emergency, we need a tactician, so I’m stepping up.]

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” He was just another ‘Horde Orphan’ and not even one who managed to make it into the military. He heard a little beep. His heads up display lit and he examined both the formation and the hastily laid plan. “You are either crazy, clever, or both, Queen De’va.”

He got to the river and began gliding along it, the Nimitz too big to follow, came to a halt. They began firing anyways, hitting buildings with impunity. Mog’s eyes watched in horror as he dodged rubble after rubble. Then there was a loud blast and an explosion.

[I’ve got engine one!] Wordak cheered. [Seven more to go!]

[Don’t get shot. We’re heavily outnumbered.] Mal informed them. [They’re releasing fighters now. I’ve got three of them on me. Don’t let me down.]

Mog brought the nose of his ship up, arching high before looping vertically and heading back towards the river. “Submerging!”

[Got it. Be careful!]

Mog carefully lined his craft, and slowed his speed to where he could dive in without breaking apart. This was both thrilling and perhaps the most terrifying thing he had ever done, he thought, hoping Mal’s data on the depth of the river was right. If she wasn’t, well, he’d know soon: he’d be dead after all.

He dipped the nose in, felt water push back against the joystick and rightened himself and coasted along for several kilometers, easily before he heard the words.

[You’re in position.]

He pulled back the joystick, the nose of his craft careened up and he blasted out of the water just as his first target was directly ahead. He fired at the powersource for the cannon and frowned when there was barely a dent. Then there was more headway when more blasts came about. It began to spark and smoke.

“Alright!”

[Hey! Glad to see you in the air, Mal!] It was blondie...err, Adora. [Think you can get me on that giant ship?]

[You have a plan other than ‘break skulls as She-Ra’?] Mal questioned. Mog saw her in his periphery, with half a dozen enemies on her tail. She weaved around them expertly, using the very ship they came from as her cover, but he could tell: she was having trouble. [I’m a little tied up here! Sorry!]

[That ship is where the leader of the Eternians in Carnivus’ armada is, isn’t it? Well, I figured I ought to pay them a visit as their Princess!]

[Adora, I doubt they know who you are.]  
[I think they do.] Adora was adamant. [Rumour has it Adam went back to the King.]

“Are you serious?” Mog couldn’t believe his ears. “You mean to tell me golden boy betrayed us after all his bullshit about how important ‘justice’ was? Fucking Monarchs and their fucking politics and feelings making everyone’s lives more difficult when they throw temper tantrums!” 

[Temper tantrums?] Wordak asked. Mog grumbled. Of course the clone was interested.  
“Let’s just say Adam came to the Purrsia before we left and didn’t get what he wanted.”

[Focus Mog! We’re in a dogfight!] Tom scolded, then, Mal’s radio cut out suddenly. [Mal? Do you copy? MAL! Can anyone give a ten-twenty on Mal?]

Mog, who was now dodging enemies of his own worried for a moment, sparing the briefest of glances where he saw her next, only to see the pink fighter doing a rudder roll, gunning down two ships when she cut into the circle she was making before righting up.

[Sorry. Didn’t want distractions.] Mal came on the comm again, sounding shaky. [I still got four. Anyone able to assist? Adora? Send your coordinates. I may be able to make it work.]

“At your seven.” Mog frowned as he raced towards her, “I’ll be on your port side in three, two, one.” He saw her pull into a tight roll and sidle up beside him as three of the four ships were in hot pursuit. He gunned down the one that lagged behind and when she reached his starboard side, he threw up a thumbs up. “Split!” They blasted off in opposite directions. Two went after her while he got the last one. 

[Much more manageable. Engaging Funnel units.] He saw several cone-like attachments on Clawdeen-Nu break off the wing and fly around it in a circle before they started firing at the two ships behind her as she dropped her attitude towards the city.

“Watch it! You aren’t exactly in peak condition! Overusing the funnels or risky manuvers~”  
[I know. Thanks Mog.] She sounded like she was smiling. [Sorry for not trusting you enough.]  
“Just don’t die today…”He trailed off. “got me?”  
[Couldn’t even if I wanted to.] Came a chuckle.

“I got a radar reading!” Mog felt his heart jump as he saw it. Ten. No. Twenty? On the fifty or so that they were already tied up with. “Not good.”

[Attention Queen De’va.] Mog frowned at the address. [This is Lady Ara Mau speaking. Our fleet has been sent by Governor Sy-Klone to give you more arial support. Per his direction, we’re under your command.]

“Oh, lucky day!” Mog grinned. “Coming in like big damn heroes!”

[Half of you work on taking out dreadnaughts. The other half? Help us stop the Nimetz while we get Princess Adora on board.]

[Roger!]

*

Bow knew he would be overpowered. Easily, quickly. Therans were, simply put, naturally stronger than someone like him. There was no shame in admitting that he had to rely on quick thinking over brute forcw. He expected the pain of angry teeth sent after him like attack dogs. What they didn't expect though was that he would use the opportunity to get a cable from his small tablet to the back of one of their necks.

That Theran fell to the ground in shock, and the others looked at him suspiciously. It was okay though: if they were paying attention to him, they weren’t minding what was happening to that Theran and that gave him time. Reluctantly, he put his fists up, prepared to fight: one nice advantage of using a bow and arrow was the upper body strength. He ducked when one of them lunged at him. Grabbed another who threw a fist and locked them in an arm bar in front of him as another came to attack.

He saw the blood. Felt sorry for the Theran he held as a shield almost. He had hoped one of their own would get them to stop, but it simply wasn’t meant to be. He let go, kicking them away just as another swiped at his chest, nearly catching him over the red heart on his shirt.

Bow took a moment to glance back only to see an Entrapta icon on the screen only partially coloured in. “Come on Entrapta! Work faster!” He hissed, which turned into a yelp when claws tore into him. He felt them rake along his exposed abs and for the first time regretted his favourite outfit choice. 

He curled over, holding his stomach, wincing, down but not out. He backed up as they began to surround them, sniffling and tasting blood. He bumped into someone behind him and froze.

Carnivus.

“Well, boy,” he seemed amused. Bow was panicking. What if he noticed the Theran on the floor? What if Entrapta didn’t have the data yet, “you took down three of them by yourself? I must say, I am rather impressed. You’re a little more than the average Hume, it seems.”

“Is this the part where I thank you?” He wasn’t sure he wanted Carnivus of all people to be complimenting him. A giant paw patted the top of his head in a patronizing way, and a cat like smirk pulled at his lips.

“Alright, that’s enough. No need to do more.” He warned them. They all stopped growling, hissing, and Carnivus’ green eyes looked at Bow. He grabbed him by the chin, turning his head this way and that. “Fascinating. Well, a bit roughed up shows them I’m serious, so we’ll keep you as is for the most part.” He gestured with his head. “Bandage the worst of it.”

Robotically one of them did exactly as told, retreating further into the room and emerging with a first aid kit. Bow winced when haphazardly, bandages were wound around his stomach in a thin layer. The cuts weren’t very deep, but they bled through, staining the wite bandages pink. Judging by Carnivus’ appraisal, it gave the impression he was looking for.

“Come along now.”

“Where are we going?”

“You don’t ask the questions around here boy, I do.” A smirk. “But I’m feeling generous. We’re going to contact your friends and ask for a trade.”

“A trade?”

“You for my niece.” Carnivus hummed. “I would have traded that soldier my niece is infatuated with for herself, but sadly they were a little too stubborn so that just wasn’t possible.”  
“What happened to Tab?”  
“Manx is disposed of. That’s all you need to know, boy.”  
“What happens once you’ve gotten De’va?”

Carnivus’ pupils narrowed to slits. “I hate to say it, but even I have to admit when further conflict will only result in loss. I see Sy-Klone has thrown his lot in with your rag-tag bunch. You won this battle, but I don’t plan to leave empty handed or with you unscathed.”

“Just what do you plan to do with me?”

“I’m undecided…” Carnivus glanced at the fallen Theran and frowned. “Even a Hume like you shouldn’t have managed anything lasting.” Bow’s heart rate shot through the roof. He saw Carnivus stalk over to the group with their glowing, blank green eyes, throwing them physically out of his way before he came to the one fallen on the ground. “Speak.”

“My brothers and sisters! We must all know! Chief Carnivus did not save us from the labs! He is simply a new slaver disguising himself as a saviour! Fear him! Do not trust him!”

“Boy,” Carnivus spoke lowly, picking up the babbling Theran by the collar, “what the hell did you do to my soldier?”

Bow hoped to buy just a little more time. “N-nothing!”

“He’s disconnected from my network. Interesting.” He reached behind for the chip and then frowned, pulling out the cord. “Oh you naughty, naughty boy.” He smirked. “I was only going to leave you bruised and cut for your friends, but I guess they’ll have to deal with broken bones.”

*

“You’re either very stupid, or very brave.”

Catra didn’t like the sound of those words. She sat in the back of the Clawdeen-Nu, feeling a strange Deja Vu, but Adora was with her, standing in the back, her eyes trained on each ship as it came near them. She trained her sword to the wings of each enemy and with a pulsating glow, the Sword of Protection sent a beam of energy she slashed their way, taking out the craft.

Each of them ejected, their parachutes off in the distance.

“Sometimes the flashiest things get the most attention, and that’s what we want, isn’t it?” Adora smirked. “Nothing like a glowing magical warrior cutting down ships almost single handedly to say ‘hey, maybe pay attention to us’! Right?” Mal’s shaky sigh made Catra’s blood pressure rise. Adora grinned. “We’ll have Adam and my Dad barking orders about this in no time.”

“Or you’ll get us all killed.” Mal quipped back. “Why did I agree to this?”  
“If we do nothing, we’re just as likely to die, so I’ll take my chances!”  
“That logic doesn’t even~” Mal made a series of sounds, none of them words. Catra huffed.

“Mal, don’t crash this ship with a very normal me in it. I’m sure everything will be fine.”  
“You know I’d never let anything happen to you Catra!” Adora proclaimed. She blushed.

“Of course I have to be stuck in the middle of this fight on the ship with my best friend who turns into an eight foot magical warrior and my Aunt who literally made a pact with a demon! Gee, if we crash and burn, I guess we know which one of us will die on impact or capture!”

“Can’t die if you’re already dead!” Mal noted.  
“Wait? What?”  
“Unless you still have a lot of lives left.” Mal snickered.  
“That’s just a superstition!”

“It’s totally true! Therans really do have nine lives!” Catra was sure she was being fictitious. She had to be fictitious. They were mortals. Mal suddenly pulled the craft into a spin and Catra felt her last meal threaten to return. 

“Yeah right! How many do you have left then?”

“None! I burned through them all before I hit eighteen! I guess I was a bit of a wild child!”  
“Given what I know happened to you in your teens, that has to be crap!” Catra shouted back.

“Certainly sounds cool though, doesn’t it?” Mal was full of crock sometimes. Catra stared at the back of the pilot seat with great impunity while Adora leaned out far, her blue eyes glowing and focused as they came up to the Nimetz class, and a cannon trained on them. “Not good. If it’s a beam cannon, dodging will suck.”

“I got it!” Adora leaned far out of the craft and Catra in fear, grabbed her hand, anchoring her.  
“Don’t fall out, Dummy!”  
“Relax Catra, I got this!”

The weapon fired. A massive wave of light that blinded. Mal cursed loudly. They went into an immediate nosedive. Adora nearly fell out. Catra was screaming, her arms wrapped around Adora’s waist as they plummeted towards the earth.

“Mal! You need to pull up! Mal!” Catra was screaming as the earth drew closer. “Mal!” The nose suddenly pulled up high, and Catra felt crushed into her seat. Adora clung to her, wide eyed, then smiled. “Dummy.”

“See! It’s fine!” Adora lightly punched Catra’s arm as they pulled into a cruising level, watching Mal’s shoulders jostle up and down with every breath she took. “I think?” She looked back towards them at the city and her eyes widened in horror. “Catra…” she breathed.

Catra smelled the smoke and looked at it, eyes wide. “I know.”  
“Okay. Not kidding around anymore. We need to stop this before more people are hurt!”  
“How? We can’t get near that thing if it keeps firing like that.”

There was silence from the pilot’s seat.

“Mal?”

“If…” Her voice sounded shaky, “I stay out here much longer I’m going to be a liability. I’ll get you on and then I’m going to have to pull back for a bit.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

She turned to glance at them and gave them a thumbs up since they couldn’t see past her helmet’s visor to her eyes very well. “Peachy.”

“Got a plan?” Adora asked.

“A crazy one. Seems like the theme of the day. Look out for that cannon Adora, and hit it when I say so. Got it!” Adora nodded. “Hold on!”

Catra felt herself be pushed back to the seat, felt her bones rattle with the engines, then when she thought they couldn’t move faster, the wind couldn’t whip around them harder, they sped up, to the sort of speed that any sort of sudden stop was guaranteed to flatten them like paper. She gripped tight onto her seat. Watching as the cone shaped Funnels detached. Spinning around the attack drones targeted everything that came near their path, clearing it for Mal to somehow fit the craft on a diagonal. Adora yelped as she was nearly thrown out, but Catra gripped her hand tighter than ever.

Adora’s eyes trained on the cannon. “It’s not firing yet.”  
“It probably has to charge!” Catra agreed.  
Adora nodded. “I was beginning to think that three shots ago, maybe? There’s a delay.”

“Exactly. We only got one chance at this. Screw it up and we’re dead!” They pulled right in front of the cannon and Catra’s eyes glowed with the building charge as she stared down the giant barrel. This was nuts. They were charging. Right for it. 

“We’re going to be in the cannon at this rate Mal!”  
“That’s the plan!”  
“That’s going to make it blow up!” Catra pointed it out. “Or is that part of the plan too?”

“It is. That explosion is both a distraction and your entrance.” Adora stood tall, and Catra found the light enveloping them. She hissed and closed her eyes as it grew blinding.

“Now!”

Adora gripped the Sword of Protection with both hands slashed at the glowing center of energy, slicing it into two on either side of them. There was an explosion. Their craft rocked violently as Mal navigated through the fissure, and Catra screamed in fright. Adora changed the Sword of Protection into a shield and a bubble surrounded the entire craft as the explosion dispersed.

When the smoke cleared, several holes were in the barrel of the cannon.

“That’s our in!” Adora reached for Catra’s hand and pulled her into a standing position before sweeping her off her feet. “Are you going to be okay getting back?” Adora wished she could see beyond the tinted panel that shielded Mal’s face. The way Mal’s hands shook when she took them off her steering briefly did not sit well with her. “You’re shaking.”

“Just a little fear we might all die today.”  
“We’re going to get through this.”

A breathless laugh. “I’ll be retreating out of the combat zone, but close enough to get support if something happens. I’ll be fine and rejoin once I can. Now go!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Adora jumped out of the side of the craft and Mal shook her head.

“Fucking kids.” She grumbled, rubbing her left leg. “Though I guess it’s a little unfair to call them that when they’re just a few years younger, besides…” She paused for a moment, looking to her left shoulder. Still nothing. She let her helmeted head hit the dash. “I...don’t want you near me? That was literally the last…” A sob threatened to bubble from her throat. She swallowed it. No time for that. Not now. “Who’s the fucking child, huh? I’m a fucking moron.” She took a breath, gripped her joysticks, and grit her teeth as she deployed the funnels and began shooting around the cannon, ensuring it was inoperable, threatening to bring the damn thing around her.

With that, she boosted out of the tight quarters, surprised she didn’t lose a wing, her shaking even worse. “I’m so sorry Tab.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. Last chapter, Carnivus tore the Twilight Topaz Tab had away from them before he shot them.  
> Yes, mentioning Tab wasn't a strong swimmer had a purpose as well.
> 
> If you have been following, I very much have an appreciation for Chekov's Gun: if a gun is shown in the first act, it must be fired before the end of the third. :)
> 
> The battle is looking dire. Carnivus has the fire power and now he has a hostage.
> 
> As for Kittrina...  
> Remorse is a wonderful thing to have after you've hurt people, but then what? How does one repair the damage they caused?  
> What if that damage is irreversible? 
> 
> Also, yes folks: I have been holding myself back from referring to Mal as "Malva" for a long time now. I didn't want to show my hand on that reveal just yet, but she's been Malva in my head for quite a long time now. Fun fact, Malva is a family of flowering plants also known as "Mallow". Given Mal's associated with gardening on the ship, I also felt this was very appropriate to her.
> 
> Double time if you include what Mallow means symbolically: love, protection and health. It is considered the guardian of a house and has national and spiritual roots. :)
> 
> I think this was a fun way of showing that she has not only accepted both sides of herself (De'va and Grimalkin identities), but that she now no longer wants to seem wishy-washy about where she stands with Tabby (by now taking Tab's last name as her own). The only problem is...too little too late. Something she's acutely aware of in that last scene there.
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> Glimmer felt her brief joy at being able to contribute evaporate to ash as worry took over. She looked to Kittrina who blinked and then shrugged, then to Entrapta who stopped typing.
> 
> “Well...he did get this data for me.”  
> “And then?”  
> Entrapta looked panicked. “I...don’t know?”  
> “Entrapta!”  
> “AH! Look, I’m sorry! I just dived right into the coding! I thought it was the most important thing!”  
> “More important than checking to see if Bow was still alive?”  
> “Well, statistically speaking, if I disabled those chips quickly our chances of survival would jum~”  
> “I don’t care!”


	30. “It’s a warzone. Just like home.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal remembers the humble beginning of her and Tab when confronted with the messy aftermath of her actions towards Adam.  
> Kittrina finds defending her actions as being for her mother's wellbeing falls flat when it lands on a frustrated Glimmer's ears.  
> Entrapta finds herself under pressure as she's torn between worrying about Bow's capture and the means to save them all.  
> Adora and Catra find themselves cornered by the Eternians in their plan to get Adam's attention to call the attacks off.  
> Bow finds himself face to face with Carnivus and is left uneasy by a villain who believes he is saving his people.
> 
> CW: Discussions of Trafficking and Medical bias towards bodies that don't fit the norm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this is late! Life is kicking my butt right now and my mental health is surely telling me about it! I am working away at this still but it's been very slow because of this so I'm really sorry. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
> 
> We've got another early Mal/Tab flashback that I hope you find enjoyable about how the two of them started. They be cute.
> 
> As always, your likes and comments are highly encouraging. I will respond to each comment and they really do motivate me so thank you in advance to all of you who are letting me know you are enjoying this read!

Hey Adora,

I think everything that’s happened around us has put some things into...perspective.

I’ve made my mind up. I don’t want the title of Princess. It isn’t me. What is? Racing you in the Fight Zone. Sharing a bed with you. Being home.

It doesn’t have to be Etheria. If you’re there, and so are the other people I love, that’s enough.

Catra.

*

Nine years ago…

Their hair was getting long again. Tab pulled it back into a very messy bun and decided maybe it was too long. Maybe they would get weird glances, weird looks, comments whispered when no one noticed about a tom who looked more like a queen.

Who were they kidding? 

They always looked somewhat ambiguous to everyone. There was no use denying it, and the reality was someone was always going to look at them and call them a freak. An anomaly. Especially since Tab themself refused to “correct” something which, in their eyes, wasn’t even wrong in the first place. This was just their body. Period. Maybe Tab needed to just face the music of that reality? They were never going to be man enough, or woman enough, in the eyes of others. Not ever. As they got older they found themselves realizing that they never cared to be either of those things anyways. They were no tom and they weren’t a queen either. They were just Tab. Their body never complied to those rules in the first place, so why should they try to force themself to do so now? For what? Other people’s comfort? It was nothing to be ashamed of, regardless of what some paperwork might say.

A door opened. Tab glimpsed black wavy hair. Heard a gasp of shock. Tab rushed to cover up.

“Sorry! I didn’t know!” Tab froze in embarrassment as the youngest princess of Panthera stood in wide eyed embarrassment. Tab was partially bent over, but a glance over their shoulder and the Princess’ gasp when she realized her blatant staring was caught soured the soldier’s mood. “I um....do you always hang out undressed while off duty?” She was awkward, covering her face with her hands so she couldn’t look at Tab anymore. Tab felt stung with shame and anger.

“You’re the one who came into my room, Princess.” Tab hissed.

“I didn’t know it was, Major Manx,” she backtracked, “I was careless! Sorry!” Princess De’va peaked between her fingers, making eye contact. “Um…” She flushed. “You look…”

“Say it.” Tab groused, looking for a pair of pants, their tail flicking with agitation.  
“What, exactly?” She sounded completely baffled. Then her eyes trailed along Tab’s body.  
“What everybody else says when they see me.”  
“That you....” she smiled nervously, flustered, “look strong?”  
“Don’t play coy with me, Princess.” Tab sighed.

“You know, um…” De’va gave a nervous smile, “if you brushed your hair out more often and trimmed the ends, it would be less tangled and healthier. You would look really beautiful.” She folded her hands in front of her, staring at the ground, fidgeting, blushing. “Er, more beautiful.”

“You… actually like my hair like this?” Tab glanced at her from over their shoulder.  
The Princess blinked owlishly. “Is something...wrong with your hair?”  
“It’s long. Very long. Not very macho, is it?”

“I mean, it’s a shame it suddenly went so shockingly bright white, but the contrast with your skin is stunning and it actually suits you in a way. Makes you look...ethereal. Powerful. Especially with those wonderful teal blue eyes of yours.”

Tab had barely buttoned up their pants before they turned to face the Princess, uncertain whether she was kidding or not. Tab saw the princess glance up, then look back down to the ground. “Are you joking?” Tab snorted. “Beautiful? Ethereal?” They echoed. “You know I’m supposed to be a tom, right?”

“Is that somehow an issue?” She asked innocently. Tab’s eyebrows raised to their hairline.  
“That’s what I was always told.”  
“Oh.” She paused. “Is that what you want then?”  
“Well,” Tab scratched their nose. “That’s how things are.”  
“So?” She seemed oblivious as she shrugged. “Can’t a tom be pretty if he wants to be?”  
“You’re missing the point.”

“Aren’t you just you? Does all of that really matter?” A pause. “I mean, I guess it matters,” she recanted, frowning, “but does someone else's opinion really mean more than your own?”

Tab looked at her incredulously. “Please tell me you’re jokin’?”  
“I’m not. The teachings of Goddess Lynx says ‘The body is just a vessel for~”

“Don’t patronize me by pretendin’ you’re acceptin’ of shit, Princess!” Tab snapped. “What the hell would y’know about these things in your charmed life?”

“I-I’m sorry!” she backed up, eyes wide and wild. “I meant no offense! I just thought you were gorgeous! Whether you’re a tom or a queen or whatever, you’re you and you're very pretty!” 

So she was being genuine, not just saying it to humour Tab or make herself look better. Unreal. Tab wasn’t used to that. First her brother, now her. What oddities. Tab covered their face with their hand and inhaled, holding the air in their lungs before letting it go.

“I-I’m sorry.” Her voice quivered. She had seen Tab take that breath and she was recoiling away, expecting the worst. “I —Major—” Her words died before she could voice them. Tab could see it in how De’va tensed with each passing moment.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Tab began in a soothing voice. She still looked skittish. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I’m not angry. Not at you or at anythin’, okay?” The Princess nodded silently. “I guess I’m just a little sensitive about this sort of thing. A lot of people say stuff like that to me but don’t actually mean it like you do. Get me?” Tab asked softly. Princess De’va nodded silently. “So,” Tab decided to shift the topic back, “You think I’m gorgeous?” Tab echoed, disbelieving.

“Um, very.” She stuttered, shifting from foot to foot, refusing to make eye contact. “Stunningly so.” She continued, tucking her hair behind her shoulder. “I’ve thought so for a while now…”

“Wow.” Tab scratched an ear. “There were rumours, but I guess there’s some truth to them.”

“Rumours?” Princess De’va snorted and rolled her eyes. The sound was so out of character and so unclouth that it made Tab smirk. A Princess who laughed like that? She was an odd one indeed. “Rumours about what?”

“Both you and your brother being a little bit Queer.”  
De’va pouted, crossing her arms. “Excuse me, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way. Von’s known for flirtin’ with toms and queens alike. Hell, he’s jokingly made a pass at me a few times.” Tab scoffed. “They said as a child you tended to have these cute little crushes on the ladies in your mother’s court.” Tab smiled at that. “Apparently there was an ongoing joke as to whether you would grow up wantin’ to be like them or to be with them.” Tab shook their head, disbelieving, “I guess it’s the latter.”

“Aren’t you being presumptuous?” Those mismatched eyes glared. “The nature of who I like is no one’s business except mine and who that person is.”

“Fair.” Tab rescinded, their eyes glowing playfully, “So I’m gorgeous, am I? Tell me more.”  
“I...” Princess De’va stared at her feet, “was afraid saying it sooner would step on toes.”  
“Who’s toes?”

“Von’s.” De’va giggled nervously, “he’d be mollified that I had interests like that, you know?”  
“Interests?” Now this was most curious.  
“That or terribly worried that I was just conflating feeling safe with…” Princess De’va trailed off.  
“With what?” Tab was racking their brain. She couldn’t mean a ‘crush’ could she? On them?  
“Or maybe jealous because you didn’t seem to like him back?”  
“Wait. What?! I thought he was jokin’ when he flirted with me?”  
“That doesn’t matter Manx, my point is you know how he is.” De’va winced at her error. “Was.”

“Well, anyways,” Tab shrugged, sensing they weren’t about to get more from the Princess on the matter, “Thank you for considerin’ me gorgeous, even after you saw me like this.” 

“You mean naked, or just about?” De’va’s eyebrows pulled together. “You don’t seem comfortable naked.” She observed. “But you also said you weren’t a Lioness...ah, Tomcat?”

“Look who’s talkin’?” Tab noted sharply. De’va winced. “Sorry. I don’t mean to get my back up. This is just touchy for me. Think of it this way,” Tab went around looking for a compression shirt and began tugging it on, “You were a Lioness. That means people who looked at your naked body did so with only lust,” Tab saw her shiver from the corner of their eye, “Well in my case? People always looked at my body like it was this curious moment of science. Even the military doctors were practically frothin’ at the mouth to try to fix somethin’ that was never broken just so I could be ‘normal’ and they could be praised for ‘fixin’ me. Frankly, it’s absolutely disgustin’.”

“But you were in the Horde Labs,” Tab was surprised. She remembered that about them? Really? “Did your doctor not have a single shred of tact about how that would make you feel?”

“Your Highness, our people don’t do well with certain things strayin’ from their norm.” Tab told her point blank. They saw her cringe. “You’re the second person to have somethin’ positive to say about it though.” Tab smiled. “You’re a strange one. Why are you in here anyways?”

“To get away from Adam and Teela.” The Princess was looking at the ground again, “I...kind of had a... moment earlier. Now they’re hovering over me.” She fidgeted, “It makes me anxious.”

“They’re just tryin’ to help.” Tab assured, reaching for a shirt now. “Let them.”

“Well it’s not helpful. I know they don’t get it. If I’m honest -- I never want them to fully understand.” Tab got the implied but unsaid thought: to completely understand meant to experience it, “but I wish they would give me space, or you know, listen to me when I tell them what I do and don’t need. Crowding me after a panic attack? Asking me how I’m feeling every two seconds? Really?”

“Well,” Tab shrugged, “if you need a quiet space to ground yourself, you’re welcome here.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Anytime.” Tab assured, “just maybe knock next time?”  
The Princess’ skin took on a glow to it. “That was my bad. I’m so sorry!”  
Tab smirked teasingly. “Unless you really want to see me naked again, Your Highness.”  
“Ah - I-I’m good.” She sputtered. “I mean, you look wonderful, really, I just don’t think~”

“I was teasin’ you.” Tab stretched their arms over their head, “listen, if you’re panickin’ that much again next time and you forget to knock and it just so happens that I am naked in my own room, it’s honestly no big deal. I’ll just get dressed. Don’t feel like you are bein’ -- well, propositioned.”

“Right, um,” The Princess exhaled shakily. “Thank you, umm…”  
“What is it?”  
“My brother used to call you Tab. Do you mind if I did that too?”

Tab felt breath leave their lungs. Their face went still. Princess De’va misinterpreted it. Perhaps in the worst way. She began to speak, rapidly, barely taking a breath between thoughts.

“Oh, I’m so stupid! You did have feelings for him back didn’t you? You just didn’t act on it because he was your superior officer, right? He dies and your hair goes white as snow? Stupid me!” Tab winced when the Princess smacked her own forehead. Hard. “Asking to use the nickname my brother gave you? Completely insensitive! I’m such a selfish little idiot not even bothering to check in to see if you’re doing okay for once. I just come to you whenever I want to cry about him like some self centered child who~”

“No.” Tab cut in.  
“P-pardon?” De’va blinked, tripping over her words.  
“You got it wrong. Stop babblin’ -- you leap to conclusions and don’t give a chance to respond.”  
“O...kay…” De’va blinked, “then,” she swallowed hard, “what did you feel about Von?” 

“He was a good friend. A great friend. Like a brother, almost. Honest. I’m sorry I failed him, Princess De’va. Because of me, you lost your beloved brother.”

“I never blamed you.” De’va’s expression crumpled, “look, if guilt is the only reason you’ve been hanging around me and the Eternians, don’t. I have to stay here because,” she chuckled bitterly, “because, well,” she gestured, throwing her hands out to either side of her, “I don’t exactly have any other place to go. But you? You could see all the stars you want and not worry about some obsessive psychopath hunting you down.”

“You want to see all the stars, huh?”  
“Since I was a little kitten.” De’va smiled shyly. “If you don’t want to be here, Major Manx…”  
“That’s not it. I don’t feel obligated.” Tab assured. “And please...call me Tab.”

“Okay, well...” De’va looked away, “Tab, whatever reason you’ve chosen to be here, I am glad, but, don’t do it if you don’t want to, okay? Maybe see the stars for both of us?” Hesitantly she approached Tab and Tab looked at her curiously before she awkwardly, clumsily, wrapped her arms around the taller Theran. “Thanks for letting me camp out in your room for a moment!” Just as awkwardly, Tab wrapped their arms around her, patting her on the back lightly. “I’m doing better, so I’ll head out now.” 

“Von never liked being called Devon.” Tab noted as De’va pulled away. She lingered.  
“I know. Dad’s Devon. He’s Von.” Her hands found Tab’s forearms and gripped them firmly.  
“Do you like being called De’va?” Tab asked. The light in her eyes dimmed. She pulled back.  
“When I was a kitten, sure, but now?” A pause. “I feel like ‘De’va’ died.” A sigh. “Silly, isn’t it?”  
“No.” Tab assured. “It isn’t.”  
“Oh.” Her eyes flashed with uncertainty. “Well, if I gave into that feeling, it means I lost, right?”

“No.” Tab disagreed. “It just means you’re redefinin’ yourself.” Tab’s eyes locked with hers. “If you have a name you’d rather you were called,” Tab proposed, “let me know, okay?”

The Princess hesitated at the request before leaning in and kissing Tab’s cheek. Then she headed towards the door, pausing in the frame. 

“I’ll...consider it.” She swallowed thickly, looking Tab up and down, something dark and deep in her eyes. Then she was practically glowing when she caught herself. “Thanks again...Tab.”

*

Tallstar felt like her lungs were burning. That was what? The fourth or fifth building they cleared. It didn’t matter. She didn’t have to be a Theran to smell the rampant amount of death around them. Charred flesh had a very distinctive and stomach churning smell to it.

Not for the first time, Starla found a spot of rubble to puke in, and Tallstar was holding back her hair. Not for the first time, she shook like a leaf when nothing but bile came up.

“Here.” She passed her sister a bottle, “we’re probably not going to be sitting down and eating anytime soon at this rate, so try not to get dehydrated.”

“Tallstar. There were kids. Children. Little babies. Th-their mothers were still holding them.”  
“I know.” Tallstar wished she could burn the image out of both of their heads.  
“This is more than just a fight. It’s a warzone. Just like home.”

Tallstar let loose a deep sigh. “And here Jewel and I hoped...prayed you were too young to remember most of that.” She ran her hand through her sister’s hair. “I’m sorry.”

“Did Kittrina do all this?” Starla asked shakingly as her arms wrapped around Tallstar.

“She’s bitter, but I don’t think she’s cruel. There’s a difference between being fixated on wanting to see one person suffer and…” Tallstar searched for the words, “having no regard for the lives of anybody else.”

“The Regent of Panthera.” Starla murmured, “he’s like that. You were saying that earlier, right?”  
“Yeah and Kittrina was working for him. Sort of. I don’t think she was doing it willingly.”  
“We need to keep going then. Help everyone we can.” 

There was a hoot high in the sky and Starla was able to paste on a smile. Tallstar looked up and saw gold and white feathers, then watched the owl land before hooting in agitation.

“Glory…”

“What is it boy?” Starla asked. Glory flapped his wings and took off, but at a slow pace. “I think he wants us to follow him.” Tallstar and Starla sprinted after the owl, and soon the bay came into view and the body of water grew and grew and grew.

They stopped at the wall, and Starla gasped when she noticed Glory circling and circling. Tallstar willed her legs to stretch to get a better look over the wall.

“Something’s floating...in the water.”  
“What is it, sis?”  
“I think it’s a Theran.” Tallstar informed. “A transformed Theran.”

*

Angella was only lightly dozing.

The days had melded together into this strange and unfortunate grey bland, but something had been different today. They had been travelling towards a planet last she heard -- murmurings from the guards down the hall. Something about Carnivus heading out on a capture mission.

Then it got quiet, far too quiet.

Until a few hours ago. She had told her mind to be wary of sound, to be wary of the possibility that things could suddenly explode into a series of actions and that was what she heard tonight. 

“Lady Sunda?” Came a soldier’s voice.  
“My apologies. It’s not personal.”

“What~” a gasp. The other soldier yelled but there was a sickening shulk of a sound and then a body hitting the ground.

“May the Goddess Lynx have mercy on you misguided souls.” Came Sunda’s thin, whisper quiet voice. Then the sounds of her heels and jangling keys she approached Angella’s cell, a dark veil covering her face. She was in a long gown. Angella frowned. Perhaps a few weeks ago she hid it better but today it was obvious she had a glow to her. One that as a mother herself, Angella recognized well. Sunda’s hands were bloody, but she didn’t seem perturbed or bothered by it in the least. She didn’t even bother to wipe her hands and it was disconcerting. Perhaps this was the shade of the ‘madness’ everyone mentioned when they talked about her.

“You’re back.”  
“Your hair’s looking nice.” A quirk of a smile. “Uncle has gone to try and capture my sister.”  
“That’s not good.”

“It isn’t.” Sunda agreed, “but I dearly want to believe De’va’s Spouse is the type of Theran who will keep her safe no matter what. Which means what happens to my little one?”

“Your teenage daughter.”

“Kittrina likely called him there for the deed. So she’s mixed up in all this. If De’va plays her cards right, she could get them both out of here, and if not…”

“Both of them will end up here.” Angella put together. “Either way, we do more good leaving.”  
“Exactly.” She nodded. “Ready to go?”

*

“Entrapta? How much longer do you need?”

The purple haired Princess of Dryll had the screen in front of her full of characters that made absolutely no sense to Glimmer. She trusted her though, trusted her to see to the task.

“He has impressive firewalls.”  
“Well he’s relying on maintaining control.”  
“Maybe another ten minutes?”

“Just ten?” Glimmer grinned but also felt a pang of dread. That was both incredibly fast and in the middle of a combat situation, all the time it took for everyone to be thoroughly dead. “That’s impressive, but we’re literally fighting an army right now. Any way that can be faster?”

“Working on it. Can’t focus if you keep talking to me.”  
“Right. Sorry. I’ll keep on helping Kittrina...with flying the ship.”

Kittrina snickered. “You don’t have a clue what you’re doing. I have it.”  
“Then I’ll...um…”  
“You want to go out there and help them, don’t you?”  
Glimmer nodded. “I don’t like sitting on the sidelines while my friends get hurt.”

“It’s mostly a firefight in the sky. That’s where they need the most help.” Kittrina pointed out, but she frowned gravely. “However, there are civilians on the ground?”

[Purrsia, this is Mal.] Glimmer’s eyes turned back to the bow of the ship. [I’m pulling back and maintaining cruise in your airspace.]

“Aunt De’va…” Kittrina frowned, “are you injured? What’s your status?”

[The ship’s fine, I’m…] A gasp, like she was stifling pain cut her words off, [I’m going to be fine.]  
“How about you dock back on the ship? Rest, Auntie. I heard you’re quite unwell.”

[No. Not during active combat. I’ll be fine in cruise. I can see the entire field so I can take over Command Ops from here and Purrsia can take a different support role.]

Kittrina seemed to fret at that, biting at her thumb. “Are you sure? What would we do?

[Our rooms are limited, but we can carry maybe a couple hundred people if we stick to standing and sitting only? Any way we can make an evac happen?]

Kittrina turned to Glimmer, and her eyes widened. “Me?”  
“Your magic is perfect for it!”  
“Okay! Just let me know when.”  
“Hear that Aunt De’va, Glimmer’s going.”

[Great. Battle Data just updated on my end. What’s Bow’s status?]

Glimmer felt her brief joy at being able to contribute evaporate to ash as worry took over. She looked to Kittrina who blinked and then shrugged, then to Entrapta who stopped typing.

“Well...he did get this data for me.”  
“And then?”  
Entrapta looked panicked. “I...don’t know?”  
“Entrapta!”  
“AH! Look, I’m sorry! I just dived right into the coding! I thought it was the most important thing!”  
“More important than checking to see if Bow was still alive?”  
“Well, statistically speaking, if I disabled those chips quickly our chances of survival would jum~”  
“I don’t care!”

[She has a point, sadly.] Mal interrupted, and Glimmer could practically hear her frowning. [We need to think about what will make sure as many of us get out of this as possible. From one Queen to another -- I don’t want him hurt, but we can’t all die to save only him.]

Glimmer frowned, her hands curling into fists. “I’ll listen to whatever you tell me to do, Queen De’va, but know I’m not doing it happily.” The words had the desired effect. Mal was silent for a long time and Glimmer wished she could take back the jab. It was unfair. She was just doing her best, wasn’t she? At the same time though this was Bow they were talking about. Her childhood best friend. The person who had known her the longest, been close to her since she was a kid, stuck with her through thick and thin. Yet another person she loved who was in danger.

“This is all my fault.” Kittrina murmured. “If I wasn’t so focused on getting even with you, Aunt De’va, you and your friends wouldn’t be in this mess. I am so, so sorry.”

A flush of anger hit Glimmer then. She clenched her jaw. Kittrina was right. “Yeah, it is your fault!” Even Entrapta stopped typing when she heard the rage in Glimmer’s voice. “If you stopped for ten seconds and just talked to her -- half of this wouldn’t have had to happen!”

“You don’t know what it’s been like!” Kittrina grew defensive. “Uncle is a complete monster!”  
“And so are you for going along with it and trying to make someone take your place!”  
“It was survival! Me and my mother or her!”

“No it wasn’t!” Glimmer pointed out. “You said it yourself. You were safe. You went back into that hell just to get even -- and this is the result! People who weren’t involved are dying! I bet up until you realized that your Aunt never wanted you hurt, you revelled in this as some sort of sick twisted victory! Your Aunt and her friends getting ‘what she deserved’ -- must have brought you a lot of joy, didn’t it? Who cares if there’s a couple of civilians in the way? They don’t matter!”

“I didn’t mean to involve anyone else!” Kittrina tried to defend. “But I had to protect my mother!”  
“You had to protect your mother? At whose expense? My mother’s and my best friend’s?”  
“What are you even talking about?” Kittrina blinked.

“You took my mother to that creep as some sort of screwed up offering didn’t you?” Glimmer was seeing red. Her hands curled into fists. “You found her in Despondos on that moon with Adam, Mal and Teela. She could be dead now and it’s all your fault!” 

Kittrina looked at Glimmer long and hard. “Your mother...is that Etherian woman we captured?”

“Yes. She has a name.” Glimmer hissed. “It’s Angella.” Glimmer gritted between her teeth, “and if she’s dead, my mother’s blood is on your hands!”

[Glimmer!] Mal called out. Glimmer cringed. There was making a point and then there was taking things too far. She knew immediately by Entrapta pulling her welder’s mask over her face, Kittrina’s slumped shoulders, and Mal’s tone which end of that she ended up on.

“You need me on the ground? I’m going.” In a flash she was gone.

*

Catra took a step back. Then another, then a third. She gasped when she bumped into Adora behind her. Adora threw a glance over her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Why do there have to be so many of them?” Catra flicked her wrist. “I don’t feel okay with hurting them all. They’re just following orders. Right?”

“We don’t exactly have a choice. We have to get to the bridge.”  
“How, exactly?”

[F-fourth on the left from your current position.] Came Mal’s shaking voice.

“Whoa. I thought you were pulling back?” Adora commented.

[I’m out of combat range but on the field. I’m taking over Command Ops since Tab is gone.] She explained smoothly. [Fourth corridor, and then take the second on your right.]

Catra leapt from wall to wall, her claws slashing deeply into anyone who came close to her, while Adora cleared out anyone in her path. They made the first turn down the corridor.

“Don’t pull too far ahead!” Adora warned.  
“Got it!” Catra spun around a soldier, claws catching and ripping through the armor -- claws to their back. Catra could smell the fresh blood, tried to not think about how it was all over her hands, she leapt to the next wall, heard soldiers behind her and saw stars in her vision.

She staggered, holding her head. Another blow came and she fell to the ground and everything dipped to black. She heard screaming, and then felt herself be picked up before they turned down a hallway and Adora ducked into a room and sealed it off to catch her breath.

She laid Catra down and planted the Sword of Protection, letting the light of magic surround her dear friend’s body.

[That’s the wrong way!] Mal growled on the comm.  
“I don’t care! Catra got hurt!”  
[What am I supposed to do about that from here, huh?]  
“Try calling Adam again.”  
[There’s no point. He won’t answer me.]

“Is it really because he won’t answer?” Adora questioned. “Or did you just give up?”  
[You think I’m lying.]

“I know you are.” Adora counted. “I realized something about you, De’va: you lie to everyone. Even yourself.” Adora scowled. “Take for example whatever happened between you and Adam. He wasn’t willing at all, was he? You knew you were using his feelings for you against him. You just don’t know how to deal with what you did. You want things fixed? Start with the truth.”

[You’re one to talk. Maybe follow some of your own advice where Catra is concerned.]

Adora rolled her eyes, smiling only when Catra began to stir. “Hey! Can you still fight?”

“Ugh. My head. All the pain and none of the fun.”  
“There’s still plenty of soldiers to fight if you’d like?”

Catra cracked her knuckles and smiled. “You mean I can get even?”  
“If you’re up for it.”  
“Let’s bust some heads!”

*

Entrapta could feel those mismatched eyes, so much like Catra’s staring at her. She didn’t see the point in engaging, merely put her welder’s mask back on and hummed while the young Theran kept tapping the steering column of the ship very loudly and very much with no set rhythm. It was loud then soft. Fast then slow. Then loud again. Then fast. Then slow.

“Can you stop that?”  
Kittrina blinked. “Stop...what?”  
“That.” Entrapta frowned, but it couldn’t be seen. “The tapping.”  
“Oh! Sorry!”

There was an awkward silence between them and Entrapta now heard her foot tapping in the exact same manner. She bit her lip and smacked her cheeks -- or rather the cheeks of her mask before having her hair remove it and looking at Kittrina. She gasped. Entrapta then looked down. She realized it immediately and stopped tapping her foot.

Then her tail began flicking and hitting the chair the way her hand and foot had just before. No rhythm. Loud then sometimes soft. No discernable pattern. Entrapta looked at her, raising an eyebrow. Kittrina grabbed her offending tail and gave a nervous smile, wringing the poor appendage with her hands and wincing.

“Do you want to….talk?” Entrapta asked softly.

“Sorry! Sorry! I know you’re doing important work I’m just…” The young Theran began to rock back and forth in place. “Nervous.” She blinked when Entrapta reached over with a large tendril of hair and patted her head. “I...hurt a lot of people. How am I going to fix it?”

“You can’t.” Entrapta said simply. The girl’s face crumpled.  
“But -- but,” her voice caught, “how are they going to forgive me?” Kittrina asked.

“Hmm,” Entrapta’s hair tapped her chin as she continued to type, “maybe apologize and then work to be better?”

“I know that but if I can’t make the hurt stop then how does anything get better?”  
Entrapta shrugged. “Time?”  
Kittrina sighed and began rocking back and forth again. “What if not everyone has the time?”

That got Entrapta to stop typing. She turned to the young Theran. “What exactly are you referring to?”

“I had a suspicion.” Kittrina admitted, folding her arms around herself, rocking back and forth. She breathed a stream of air through her bangs and they floated back into her face. “That there was more to it than Auntie giving her soul for “power”. I guess deep down I knew Uncle was partially lying.” Kittrina looked uncomfortable. “But something she said to me has been making me think about the truth behind the trade she made with the Grimalkin. Auntie told me desperation makes us give up precious things for desires that weren’t worth the trade. Then she got a little...weird when I said I hoped she found Auncle Tab in her next life.”

“I...don’t think I’m following.” Entrapta murmured.

“It’s believed the Goddess Lynx had many incarnations over the centuries. Our people believe we are all reborn to live nine lives. Each life we get a chance to be better and we are rewarded or punished accordingly with our station in the next life. Not social stations like rich versus poor, more like...hardships.” She stressed. “Joys versus sorrows. In our final life, we are judged.”

“Judged? What happens after judgement?”

“We will know the void or enlightenment.” Kittrina’s tail was flicking. “It’s believed if you and your spouse love each other enough, you can imprint on each other’s souls so heavily that you’ll find each other again in each of your remaining lives but…” Kitrina frowned. “Claudine is shrinking. One time, Claudine used to be so big that even Uncle Carnivus looked small next to her -- when he was transformed. He hated it. Now Claudine is only a little bigger than me.”

“Hmm, so the shrinking is significant.” Entrapta commanded her hair to write this down on a separate data pad while she returned to typing. “What does it mean, exactly?”

“Grandpa said size wasn’t everything for a Cait Sith’s familiar. Often size is just a reflection of raw, momental strength. Like a fire. The bigger a fire is doesn’t mean hotter or sustainable. Not to mention there is a degree of control to it. I mean, if you have a familiar as big as a house, it’s not feasible to walk around like that. However, shrinking without direct intention is significant. It’s like your power going from a fire to a flickering flame.”

“You mean,” Entrapta looked at Kittrina to find wide, tearfilled eyes. “She’s...dying?”

“Maybe?” Kittrina tugged at her hair. “Claudine was huge when I was a baby. I remember that so clearly. This large, pink lion that made even my great Uncle look small.” Kittrina was smiling warmly at the thought. “Aunty would let me ride Claudine with her when we were given the go ahead to explore wherever the Eternian fleet landed.” Kittrina sighed. “Then Claudine was a tiny thing that could fit on Auntie’s shoulder when I first saw her again. That was back when I was ten. Seven years ago.” Kittrina explained. “I didn’t think much of it because she got larger again -- but never as large as she was once. Until now, when it’s clear she’s shrinking again. I’m worried Auntie’s like...a flickering flame.”

“You think she’s going to die soon?” Entrapta placed together. “Or she’s in danger of it?”

“Worse.” Kittrina said quietly, “I think Uncle didn’t lie about her giving Grimalkin her soul. She’ll never be reborn again. All Therans know you should never trade your soul, and that if you’re going to make a deal with something as powerful as the Grimalkin, you trade away years in your current life only as a last resort. So then why would she be so silly?”

Entrapta soaked it all in and then suggested. “Maybe it wasn’t possible for her to trade years?”

“There’s no way that could happen unless at the time of the trade she…” Kittrina’s eyes widened with the dawning realization. “That would mean this entire time….” she trailed off. “But how?”

“It’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out.”

[Attention Cymric Cooperative.] Entrapta sat up straight. Kittrina looked at their radios in fear.

“That’s my uncle.”  
“How did he break my encryption on our Radios?”

[I see you’re all so eager to end this bloodshed. Now, I must say I’m impressed with your efforts but I have twice as many ships just outside orbit.]

Kittrina was standing now, her tail stiff, she kept rocking back and forth, heel to toe, heel to toe. She looked over to Entrapta.

“It’s not done yet, I need more time.”

[I’m not a savage.] Carnivus informed with a smug tone to his voice. [I’m willing to call this a draw. See, I would like to propose a trade. Go ahead friend, let them know who you are.]

[Adora!] Entrapta stopped her work immediately, her eyes wide. [Glimmer! Catra! Don’t fall for it! We can’t let him win -- if we give him what he wants--]

Entrapta was shaking. “It’s Bow.”

[I send your friend back in one piece and you give me my Niece, De’va. Sounds good?]  
[Don’t do it!] They heard Bow scream in pain and Carnivus laughed.

[Don’t take too long. I’ve got all this adrenaline in my veins and as a predator that means one thing: I need something to sharpen my claws on.]

“He has your friend.” Kittrina whispered, her face paled. “It’s all my fault. And now he’s going to take Aunt De’va.”

“We don’t know that for sure.” Entrapta took a breath and went back to her console as she went back to typing. “I just need more time.”

“We don’t have it, and talking openly on the line now that we know he can listen in on us isn’t an option anymore. He’s cut off our communication.”

[You...] It was Mal on the line, her voice shaking, [You have yourself a deal, you son of a bitch. I’m not going to let anyone else suffer over me. We’ll finish this. You and me.]

Kittrina reached for the comm before Chief Carnivus could answer. “No.” She called over. “I’m here. My mother’s worthless to you and you know that. We have the advantage here because we have what you want. Me for your hostage. Leave Aunt De’va alone.”

Entrapta shook her head and mouthed. ‘Bad idea’.

[You instead? I’ll take it. You are the safer bet, after all. You're younger. Healthier.]  
[Fuck you.] Mal hissed. [One day you’re going to get exactly what you deserve!]  
[Ah-ah! Careful! If you make me upset I might kill your friend. Or be rough with your niece.]

Kittrina clicked the comm off. “No it’s not. If we stall long enough, can you have that virus done?”  
“You’re...going to upload it.”  
“Easier to do if I’m there, right?”

A loud screech at a high frequency hit their ears and Kittrina hissed at it until Mal’s voice came through, breaking up.

[I’ve encoded to a different frequency, but it’s unstable and I don’t want to stay on it long.] Mal informed them. [Kittrina, don’t do this. Let me protect you.]

“We’re in this because I refused to trust you and dragged your friends into things.” Kittrina licked her lips and rocked back and forth on her feet. “So I’m asking you, Auntie...trust me? I want us to leave here together, okay?”

A heavy sigh. [Be safe.]

*

Starla would have asked her sister to swim. She did so when they were kids all the time: Tallstar would dive in and push the float Starla was on -- she always did fear the water. But that was why she learned to swim after all -- to be less afraid of the water. Ever since Tallstar had lost all her limbs, Starla always felt bad asking her to do anything in the rain or water. It always threatened to cause her trouble, the sort that could leave Tallstar unable to properly look after herself for days while Jewelstar helped her with maintenance on rusted joints.

So here she was, swimming to the creature in the water, floating limply. Starla could feel her breath catching as she neared, able to see it’s peaceful face. It was mostly white around the ears, breaking up the dark fur. Carefully she looped rope along its middle, over and over again, three times, four, lifting up the massive, heavy paws when they got in the way and seeing they were lighter in colour too. Then she swam back.

“Are they alive?” Tallstar asked curiously as she reached the shore.

“I’m not sure, but we can’t help them if they’re in the water.” She wrung the water out of her hair as Tallstar gripped the rope. “Ready?” Tallstar nodded and they began to pull. Feeling the rope threaten to snap with each pull, but the body in the water barely moved.

“It’s not working.” Tallstar grumbled.

“Here.” That made Tallstar jump and she turned around to find the grey haired, green eyed Percival. She paled.

“When did you get here?”  
“I always was here.”  
“How come I didn’t--”  
“I am the Queen’s guard. If she demands discretion and secrecy, then I’ll do as such.”  
“When did she do that?”  
“She specifically gave me an order to look after you. Always. Remember?”

Tallstar forced a smile before she went back to pulling. With Percival’s help, the floating form came towards them, then got harder to pull in as it reached land.

“Your Queen is one heck of a scary woman.” Tallstar forced a smile.  
“It’s what’s required when one is the Queen of Panthera.” Percival countered.  
“I mean, it’s true for all high pressure jobs I guess, but really? Not even some gentleness?”  
“We are in the mists of a civil war. The Queen cannot afford to be seen as weak.”  
“She’s gonna have me killed in my sleep one of these days, isn’t she?”  
“I cannot say with certainty. However, I have not received such an order.” A pause. “Yet.”  
“Sooooo reassuring.” Tallstar winced.  
“I only mean to be realistic, Ms. Tallstar.” Percival countered.  
“I keep thinking I have one over you guys, but...that’s a lie, isn’t it?”

“All of your bugs were already disabled.” Percival confirmed. “I personally handled them with the help of the one named Entrapta.”

“That’s what I thought.” Tallstar hung her head. “Why didn’t she just say that? Y’all could have ignored me if you knew my threats only amounted to empty air.”

“She wanted to help you.” Percival dropped the rope. “It’s that nature of hers that draws people like my clan to serving her.” He began walking towards the water. Tallstar shrugged, then looked to Starla who glared.

“So...you got into shady stuff.”  
“Eh...you’re just realizing that now, sis?”  
“Bad Tallstar!” She swatted her sister. “I’m very disappointed in you! Bad!”  
“Look! It was getting us food, alright!”  
“But it seems like you found decent people, so there is that. Do you treat your friends well?”

Tallstar sighed, guilty, refusing to meet her sister’s gaze. She shook her head while she gestured to Percival who turned the creature on its back. He seemed pensive as he looked.

“So it is a Theran?” Starla asked.

“Her majesty isn’t going to like this.” Percival seemed irritated, and Tallstar crouched by the creature. “There’s no pulse.” Tallstar eyed the creature and noticed something strange: a long set of cuts from shoulders to hip. 

“Did that injury do it?” She asked softly.  
“Look again.” Percival told her.  
“No. It looks old. Like a bad scar. From years ago. Huh.”

Tallstar walked around the large body and slowly tilted when she saw it. A circular wound, slightly left of center, still weeping blood and dying the sand red.

“Maybe it’s this one then?” Talstar questioned, reaching for the wound itself. “Doesn’t seem too deep.” Her hand found...something. Small. Round. Tallstar wasn’t sure what possessed her to do it, but she grabbed it and pulled gently. More blood spilled and it was warm.

Suddenly the large creature snorted. Tallstar fell on her butt as it’s eyes rolled open. A low, deep growl emanated. Those fangs bared. It struggled onto its feet. Percival jumped in front of Tallstar, pulling out a blade.

The creature sprinted towards them, batting Percival to the side like an annoying fly before roaring inches away from Tallstar’s face. She turned ashen, expecting it to bite before the creature froze. It made a strangled mewling sound as it sniffed into the air. All of the hairs on its body stood on end. It began hissing and snarling, and that was when Tallstar noticed it’s eyes were a bright teal blue that was simply just breathtaking -- and not only because they were narrowed with rage, the pupils contracted to slits. With a powerful leap it landed on the street. Percival leapt to his feet trying to chase it down.

“Wait!” He called, “get back here! You need to come with me and tell her Majesty that you’re stuck or she’s going to go after Chief Carnivus alone and~” A roar cut him off and he slowed down his sprint, unable to catch up. “Damn it!”

“Oh man…” Tallstar breathed, “how...how am I not dead?” Tallstar held up her bloody hand and paled at the sight of what she pulled out. A bloodied bullet. Percival looked at it.

“Because they decided they wanted someone elses’ blood more.” He huffed. “Seems like that didn’t go in too deep. Small blessings I guess.”

“Was that someone you know, Mr. Theran?” Starla asked. The secretive guard sighed, and then gave a bow.

“Percival. I am Her Majesty’s oldest servant and personal attendant, though I have spent much time away from her side of late.” He looked over his shoulder, frowning. “I can’t be one hundred percent certain. Never in my service have all of the Cymric Cooperative transformed in front of me, so I don’t know their size or their markings but…”

Tallstar put it together. “Do you think that was actually Tab?”

“The scars seem to match up.” Percival admitted. “Her Majesty, currently, believes Tabby Manx to have been killed in action by Chief Carnivus.”

“Oh shit.” Tallstar winced. “Didn’t she have some sort of revenge-pact-thing with a demon?”  
Percival sighed. “Sure. We’ll go with that.”

“So what’s the likelihood of the Queen of the Therans deciding she might as well die since her spouse is dead? She strikes me as the sort.”

Percival grumbled something incoherent and then. “We need to inform Her Majesty that there’s a possibility that Tabby Manx may actually be alive.”

“That high, huh?”  
“Shut up.”

“One more question.” Tallstar frowned. “If that Theran is Tab….” Tallstar frowned, “Why didn’t they talk to us? I thought Therans could always talk in their other form?”

“Unless they go Feral.” Percival’s eyes narrowed. “That’s why we have a big problem..”

*

“You’re going to be okay. See?”

The young mother in front of Glimmer looked at her hesitantly. The Gar woman’s blue skin was flushed red, making it take on a purplish hue as she held her young children close. One was carefully balanced in one arm, the other was old enough to walk and clutched her robes. 

“Are you with the Eternians?”  
“No.” Glimmer assured. “I’m with some Therans. We want to help you.”  
“Who?”  
Glimmer decided the truth was the best. “Queen De’va D’Riluth of Panthera.”  
“How come you couldn’t have come sooner and saved my husband!?”

That jabbed at Glimmer. Her smile turned thin, her hand shook. “I’m sorry.”  
“That’s not good enough!”

“I know it won’t be!” Glimmer yelled back. The young children hid from her, their faces turning towards their mother. Glimmer sighed. “I can’t fix it,” she added softly, “but I can make sure the same doesn’t happen to you and your kids. Please, we don’t have much time!”

The woman took her hand and Glimmer sighed. In a glow of magenta they found themselves on the Purrsia. Before she took off though, her ears caught the sound of someone unfamiliar on the comms. She froze.

[I’m willing to call this a draw. See, I would like to propose a trade. Go ahead friend, let them know who you are.]

[Adora!] Glimmer felt her blood run cold. No. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. She forgot to breathe. [Glimmer! Catra! Don’t fall for it! We can’t let him win -- if we give him what he wants--]

“Bow.” she whispered, shaking.

[I send your friend back in one piece and you give me my Niece, De’va. Sounds good?]  
[Don’t do it!] She heard Bow scream in pain and Carnivus laughing and began to reach for her radio. She did learn some things from Bow, like how to scramble a signal.

[Don’t take too long. I’ve got all this adrenaline in my veins and as a predator that means one thing: I need something to sharpen my claws on.]

“Mal.” She called. There was a crackle and then.  
[He can hear us.]  
“Not like this. What are we going to do.”  
[We need that virus.]  
“It’s BOW!”  
A sigh. [No one else then. I’ll take care of it.]  
“Wait! Mal!” Glimmer called, rushing towards the bridge of the ship. She teleported. Glimmer got to the bridge in a flash of sparkles where she walked in just as Mal was reaching out.

[I’ve encoded to a different frequency, but it’s unstable and I don’t want to stay on it long.] Mal informed them. [Kittrina, don’t do this. Let me protect you.]

“We’re in this because I refused to trust you and dragged your friends into things.” Kittrina licked her lips and rocked back and forth on her feet. “So I’m asking you, Auntie...trust me? I want us to leave here together, okay?”

A heavy sigh. [Be safe.]

“What’s your plan?” Glimmer blurted. Kittrina turned around, but her ears flattened to her head. “Look. I wasn’t wrong, I know that, but I didn’t have to put it that way and it doesn’t mean I want you to suffer, no one here wants you to. Help me help you!”

Kittrina’s eyes looked at her, wide, innocent as she nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”

*

[Why are you reaching out to my personal line again? I thought my last message was clear.]

His voice. It was cold and distant. Yet the familiarity of it was warming. Mal smiled despite the creeping unease that was settling cold in her stomach. Luckily he couldn’t see her facial expression. Couldn’t see her strange mixture of relief and wariness and pain all there on her face.

“We’re,” she tried to keep her voice even “in trouble. Big trouble.”  
[“I heard.” ] Adam said dismissively.  
“No. He’s here.” She whispered. “My Uncle. Chief Carnivus.”  
[“That’s a Pantheran problem as far as I’m concerned.”]  
“I know. I can’t handle it alone.” Mal’s voice caught. “I’m asking you for your help.”

[“I thought we weren’t going to be a united kingdom? That generally means we stay out of meddling with each other’s internal affairs.”]

“Adam…” Mal wasn’t sure whether the sound she swallowed was a laugh or a sob, “please.”  
[“You don’t deserve any favours from me.”]  
“I know.” Mal didn’t fight that truth, “but as someone who used to be your friend, I beg you.”

[“Can’t you handle a little trouble on your own? Or do you always have to be so needy?”]Adam sighed, pausing. Mal felt the barb but refused to rise to it. [“You really are nothing but a parasite, you know that?”] That smarted. Mal winced, but willed herself not to lash out in return.

“I know you’re angry. I know you feel betrayed and you have every right to, but Adam,” Mal whispered, “does this mean we aren’t allies anymore?” Mal let the helmet hit the dashboard. She felt sick to her stomach, felt fire all along her legs but she took a steading breath. “Don’t take your anger towards me out on everyone. On my poor people who just want peace. Please.”

[“I want Panthera to have it’s justice, its people to be safe.”] Adam admitted. [“Our Engagement is off for the record. Officially now. Father and I had a discussion. I’ll be marrying Teela instead.”]

“Congrats.” Mal squeezed her eyes shut. “Look, whatever you think of me? I know I deserve it and probably more. I’m not here to excuse what I did to you the last time we saw each other. I assaulted you. That’s what it was, plain and simple. Whether you might have wanted that in other circumstances is irrelevant to the fact that I was trying to force you. It was wrong and you didn’t deserve it and I’m sorry.” Mal held her head, sighing.

[“Save your apologies for someone who believes them.”] Adam grumbled. [“Why are you calling?”]  
Mal’s head hit the dashboard hard enough to make an audible ‘thump’ on the line. “Tab’s dead.”

[“So you come running to me? What? Do you think I’m happy to always stay your eternal second choice?”] Somehow, the fact that this was the first thing he could say cut deeper than anything. No condolences. No moment to pause to ask if she was okay. Mal squeezed her eyes shut as her heart ached with the callousness of his response.

“Adora is with us Adam!” Mal felt her voice crack with her desperation. “I don’t think I can handle this. Not without Tab. They’re the better tactician, and I’m not...not…” she stuttered, trying to find words to voice the emotions then deciding not to. She didn’t have time to entertain them. She took a sharp breath, steadied her voice. “I know when something is beyond my abilities.”

Adam seemed to remember himself. [“Is Tab really dead?”]  
“Do you think I would lie about my worst nightmare coming true just to manipulate you?”  
Adam allowed a long silence to lapse. Mal laughed bitterly. [“It’s not like that, really!”]

“That’s exactly what it is. You think that highly of me?” Mal closed her eyes, sighed. “Can’t say it’s not deserved, but thanks. Glad to know there is no low you don’t think I would sink to.”

[“De’va it’s not that it’s just,”] Adam sounded regretful [“You seem unnaturally calm about all this.”]  
“If I’m alive at the end of this, I can mourn. Kind of hard to do if I’m dead too.”  
[“Look, De’va,”] Adam sighed heavily, [“I know Tab is very important to you. I’m so sorry~”]

“We’re going to die Adam! I don’t have time for feelings!” She snapped. Mal caught her breath, but it still felt short. “You want to punish me? Fine! I know I was out of line! I know what I did was completely unforgivable, and I’m not about to beg for something I know I don’t deserve.” Mal sighed heavily. “You’re back on your Dad’s side now? Then those soldiers answer to you too! Tell them to back off!” Mal swallowed back a sob. “I’ll figure out how I’ll handle the rest.”

[“That was very crass and insensitive of me.”] He began very quietly. [“I didn’t mean to be so cruel about something as painful as...Tab’s passing.”] Adam admitted softly, and she could imagine his face flushed with shame. [“I can’t believe it. They were always seemingly invincible in a way.”]

Mal’s voice hitched and she let it break as she spoke. “That’s because I’m cursed.”  
[“You aren’t a curse.”] Adam retorted sternly. [“I can’t forgive you for what you did. Not yet.”]  
“That’s fine.” Mal assured with a whisper.  
[“I feel awful for it though. A time like this? You need a friend.”]

“Be as angry for as long as you need to.” Mal murmured. “Never forgive me if that’s what you need.” Mal gripped the joysticks of her craft so tightly that her skin paled. “I don’t need you to be the Adam I know. Just a leader of Eternia. Let’s focus on getting everyone out safe. Truce?”

[“Truce.”] Adam sighed in turn. [“I’ll send the order up.”] Adam paused. [“But…”]

Mal bit her lip. He held her fate. She held her breath. “Right. You are acting as Eternia now.”  
[“I’m sorry. You know how these things are. No action is worth it without gain.”]  
“What do you want?” Mal’s voice shook.  
[“The Clone.”] Adam declared, [“and...Adora. She needs to come home. Father wants to see her.”]

Mal let her head hit the dashboard again. “You should ask her yourself.”  
[“No. Make it clear she has no place on Purrsia anymore and she needs to come home with me.”]  
“Why?”  
[“Because this way it doesn’t have to be a fight between us. I’ll arrange a meet up later.”]  
“You mean this way you don’t look like the bad guy.” Mal felt her heart sink. “If I don’t agree?”  
His long silence was telling. [“Let’s not make ourselves consider that.”]  
“You sound just like your father when he’s ‘offering’ a deal out of the ‘kindness’ of his heart.”  
[“I would like to encourage you to keep this civil, De’va.”] Adam replied tersely.

“Is this really the type of King you want to be?” Mal asked softly. “What would you do if I said no? Would you just swoop in and save Adora at the last minute, leaving the rest of us to whatever awaits? Would you really do that?” Mal asked again.

[“I’d rather it doesn’t come to that, but I’m more than happy to save Adora and Kittrina from this mess you’ve selfishly put them in.”] Adam admitted cooly. [“My sister deserves to come home and Kittrina deserves to see and be Panthera’s future.”] Mal took another shaky breath. [“So, what’s your decision, Your Majesty, Queen De’va D’Riluth?”]

“I don’t exactly have a multitude of options.” Her breath caught. “Fine.”  
[“I’ll get on my part and throw you an extra bone. We’ll disable one of his Theran ships for you.”]

Mal let her head smack the dashboard a third time. “Thanks Adam.” She sighed heavily. “I appreciate it.” She murmured softly. “I’m sorry I’ve been so terrible to you.”

There wasn’t a response. Mal wasn’t sure she wanted one anyways.

*

Bow knew that sound.

Well, that wasn’t quite true. It was better to say the sound he heard was confirmed by the sudden burst of pain like white flashing behind his eyelids. That was a broken bone. He was sure of it. Felt it as he wheezed for breath and fell to his knees. All he could see was Carnivus’ looming teeth, his gleaming maw a threatening chomp away from ending his life.

He was on his knees, doubled over.

“If they take too long, how many bones do you think I’ll break?”  
“You’re not going to win this!” Bow looked up into those emerald eyes. “We won’t let you!”

“That’s such a lovely sentiment. Too bad it’s pointless.” Carnivus stood tall, straight, his eyes glancing over his soldiers. “De’va might have made a dent today but she’ll lose. She always does. She cares too much over the wrong things. All I have to do is have Kittrina send a tearfilled message of the horror I put her through and her Auntie will be eating out of my hand. It’s simply that easy with some people.” He curled his hand into a fist. “Some people let their love for others blind them to their own peril. That’s why C’yra died.” He let his hand fly, striking Bow across the face. He pulled away looking at the blood.

“So you really did kill your Queen?” Bow gritted his teeth. “You lied about it being Mal?”

“Of course I did, for our people’s sake! She was too weak to be our Queen in this New Age.” Carnivus growled at the thought. “I and many others could have been neutralized as a threat early on if she gave us an illusion of what we wanted: having a piece of Panthera’s power.” Carnivus snorted. “But no. Not one hair on her beloved daughters’ heads was to be touched. They were her bargaining chips that could have ensured Panthera’s stability, and instead she was too blinded by playing mother to understand that they had a duty to our people. Too sentimental to be realistic and Pragmatic. I’ve told her for a literal decade that she needed to give up on Randor. That he would never consider her. Eternians aren’t wired like us.”

“You mean King Randor?”

“Yes. Yet, she kept holding onto a false hope that he’d see her the way she saw him. It made her soft to them, steamrolling us over the years.” Carnivus shook his head. “That’s the real reason Panthera would have fallen even without the Horde appearing on our doorstep.” He hummed softly. “Trade the daughters away to powerful people in marriage, and yes, there will be questionable people like myself with children who could have a claim to the throne. But as their grandmother she would influence how they were raised and if she picked Devon, then his children would be next without contest, not mine, or any other noble she could have sold her daughters off to. Or any Eternians she decided to do with this to get power over them.”

“Just what are you really after?”

“We were the top of the Universe when we were as ruthless with friends as we were with foes. Back then we could go toe to toe with the Eternians and the Horde. We lost that edge. I just want to hone it again. I want a Panthera that bends to Eternia’s whims just as much as I wanted one that bowed to Horde Prime’s which is to say not at all.” Those green eyes found Bow’s dark eyes and he smiled. “So, I’m still open to making more deals. I don’t need De’va. However, the Heart of Etheria is a different matter. Where is Etheria now?”

“Why would I tell you that?”

“Because, as bad as I am, a man like Randor who can’t let go of his former glory? Who thinks the Verse would be a better place if it was just under his thumb? He’s a far worse force than me. I don’t want the Verse. Just our little corner to call ours. Just like in the past.”

“He’s Adam’s father! I don’t believe he’d be nearly as bad as you claim!” Carnivus growled and grabbed Bow by the jaw, his claws digging into the skin. “You know I’m right!”

“Prince Adam is a little more like his Daddy then even De’va wants to admit much like how she’s just like her mother. I haven’t intervened because I know it’ll get her killed someday, and frankly that’s a help as far as I’m concerned.”

Bow frowned at that. “He’s nothing like that.”

“I’ll let time be my witness to the truths I speak.” Bow heard it then, a familiar sound. The blood drained from his face as he realized.

“Uncle!” Kittrina’s voice boomed over to them. “I’m here. Let him go. Like you said you would.”

“And now the main attraction is here.” Carnivus dragged Bow to his feet. “Let’s go greet my dear little great-niece, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I give little hints, but this time I left out the whole Tallstar and Starla piece in the summary because I wanted you all to be surprised!
> 
> I hope you were!
> 
> If this chapter hasn't made it crystal clear (as I have been hinting this for a while): Tab is not only non-binary but intersex. Which I hope puts some of their emotional hang ups on what a "proper spouse" for Mal should 'look like' clearer. I also hope it's clear with this chapter that Mal, like her brother Von simply doesn't think it matters. Tab is Tab and Tab being comfortable however they want to be? That is what Mal cares about (and she frankly thinks the rest of the Verse can fuck right off with their expectations). That is why she is utterly heartbroken in chapter 21 when Tab cut their hair and started presenting more masculine -- she could tell that wasn't what Tab wanted for themself, but felt pressured to do to fit expectations people had about what the Queen's spouse should be like.
> 
> Also! More Angella! All of the pieces on the board are beginning to move in order to begin setting up the chain of events that will eventually lead to the end of this story. There will be downtime still, some much needed quiet moments but hold onto your hats because it's going to be a bumpy ride!
> 
> There is more of Carnivus, and while he is a sadistic asshole, this glimpse into his reasoning is meant to be disturbing: he believes in sacrificing the few for the many, in making backroom deals to ensure security. At the heart of it is a fear of a Panthera that is no longer its own kingdom but a vassal to Eternia. So he's willing to make it seem like he accepts it if it gives him a chance to get enough power to ward away the Eternians.
> 
> In short: he's trying to secure Panthera's sovereignty by getting them enough power that they could have a mutually assured destruction with Eternia should they go to war. And yes, he's suggesting that his sister's potential romantic interest in Randor blinded her to Eternia's misdeeds and that's (one of the reasons) why he killed her.
> 
> The real question is: what drove him to this? That's a question to be answered still.
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “But…”  
> “I didn’t change overnight and you kept telling me there was a different way. Is that your fault?”  
> “You weren’t ready for it.” Adora admitted. “I should have realized that.”  
> “But you didn’t.” Catra noted. “And even if you did, was it your responsibility to make me ready?”  
> Adora shook her head. “No. I couldn’t do that for you. I know that now.”  
> “Then this is the same thing. They have to get there on their own for themselves.”


	31. "Gemini will be waiting to see Andromeda."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora finds herself in the uncomfortable position of being an authority figure to people she knows have caused much harm.  
> Catra tries to convince Adora that not everything that threatens those she cares about is her responsibility to manage.  
> Bow, Glimmer and Kittrina manage to put Carnivus in his place with some well timed help from Entrapta's virus.  
> Mog isn't sure whether Mal barely holding herself together is something to admire or be terrified of.  
> Angella and Sunda find their seemingly easy jailbreak hitting a rather unexpected snag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to see the last of the Star Siblings in this one. :)
> 
> CW: Some gory parts in this fight.

Hey Adora,

Do you remember when I brought up our promise? That as long as we have one another, everything will be just fine. If you want to stay with Adam from now on, that’s okay. Just let me be with you. That’s all I want.

Well, not all. See, I want you. I want to be with you.

I’m sorry about Mal, but if Eternia is where you’re happiest? I’m okay with that.

Catra.

*

“This seems...too easy.” 

Angella had a feeling it was a mistake to voice this thought. Given how the shoulders of the woman with her, who just happened to be her rescuer hiked up, it was definitely a bad thing to say.

“There are two schools of thought with my Uncle,” Sunda’s voice was very soft, as if she feared talking too loudly would have them overheard by whatever forces were trying to catch them. “Some think he’s genuinely arrogant and it makes him foolish...others think that is just what he wants us to do. Think he’s a fool.”

Angella shivered at that thought. “Where do you weigh in on this?”  
“The second. He’s not Mother’s level of brilliance, but he’s no slouch either.”  
The angel-winged former Queen frowned. “What would your sister say?”

“My little sister would say…” Sunda closed her eyes and hummed. “The same. His thing is manipulation, but manipulation doesn’t work as well with those who are guarded and expecting.”

“You make a good point.”

“You were stuck in that cell for a couple of months, and he visited you on and off. Don’t you have your own opinion on this?”

Angella regretted bringing this subject up immediately. “He knew what I was.”  
“Ah.”

“The Mizar are rare in this realm now. He’s very well studied if he knows what I am.” Angella frowned even more at that thought, “meaning he’s a smart man. We wiped out every record we found and if there’s anything left, it's not in a language you should be able to comprehend.”

“So much for freedom, huh?” Angella narrowed her eyes at the Theran. “Don’t worry. You’ll see your Daughter again and you’ll both go home.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Uncle isn’t the only one who plays a role.” Sunda smiled sadly. “It’s true my mental health has never been the greatest, but it’s hard to stay optimistic and grounded when you see the deaths of everyone you care about on a constant basis.”

Angella gaped. “You’re a seer.”  
“Uh-huh.”  
“But why is he more interested in your sister if you both share your abilities?”

Sunda shook her head. “Because hers are stronger and yet she remains stable.” A quirk of a smile, “mostly. My visions had always been clearer than hers, that probably helped. No, that’s not it either...being able to interpret what a vision meant gave you a bit of power if you bent the truth a little. You could never do that with the things I see. They’re too cut and clean.”

“It was easier to discredit you than to try and use you.”

“Exactly.” Sunda chuckled, though the laugh cut short. Angella stood and went to the screen looking over.

“What is it?”

“I guess he has a tracker on us.” A beep came and Angella gasped as the monitors brought up a small fleet surrounding them.

“We didn’t even have a chance, did we?”

*

“They...all just stopped.” Catra panted. Adora froze, twirling the sword in hand but she didn’t slash or stab forward, she froze, backing up until she was back to back with Catra.

“Weird. I wonder what happened.” The soldiers were all now standing together before they saluted and Adora frowned thoughtfully. The group parted and both her and Catra tensed as a man with short reddish-brown hair and an equally as red beard -- the man they saw before on the screen when Catra contacted the Eternians in the area. He was stout, and over his shoulder was some sort of firearm. He seemed serious, focused as he approached the duo.

“You are She-Ra, I take it?” He asked. Adora frowned stepping in front of Catra.  
“I am, and you are?”  
“Rio Blast. Lieutenant Colonel of the third division formally assigned to His Honour, Chief Carnivus D’Riluth of Panthera.”

“Formerly?” Adora echoed, her bright blue eyes widening as the man took a knee before her and bowed his head.

“As of this moment, by decree of His Royal Highness Adam, Crown Prince of Eternia, I am to follow your every order, Your Highness, Princess Adora.”

*

“Well, what do we have here, boys?”

Angella frowned as several men much like Carnivus -- Magicats, correction, Therans -- circled her and Sunda. The Theran woman seemed far less concerned than Angella who tensed every time they got close and sniffed her. They were rough and tumble. The sort of people who the former Queen of Brightmoon would never want to cross paths with alone but the elder Princess of Panthera seemed unusually calm and collected.

“Who are you?” Angella bit out. One of the men approached her and took another sniff. Angella tried not to shudder.

“She smells kinda like the Sorceress.” The leader noted.  
“That’s because she’s originally from Mizar. Just like the Sorceress.” Sunda provided.  
The tom turned to her. “Well look at that. Maybe we ought to tell her?”  
“She’s here?” Sunda cursed she didn’t keep the fright out of her voice. “Goddess…”  
“And that makes you little rats who ran away. Oopsie. Showed your hand too soon.”

Sunda frowned. “You’re Theran aren’t you?”  
“Sure, by race. Creed is a whole different matter.”

Angella quickly got the implication. “Your Sellswords and Pirates.”  
“I guess you could say that. We’ll do anything for the right price. Doubt you got money though.”

“Aegean!” Came a soft voice from behind them. The Theran straightened up and sighed, looking over his shoulders. “I don’t think we need to intimidate them.”

“Worked on you, Juju, and now you’re everyone’s favourite around here!”

“Could you stop calling me that?” The young man adjusted his monocle as he stepped forward, his gait uneven on one side. One of his eyes was cybernetic and glowed red from its metal housing that took up a large part of his face. “It's very embarrassing.” He whined.

“A prosthetic.” Sunda murmured. The young man froze, his dark skin glowing. “Your leg.”  
“That obvious huh? Well, I can only give it so much maintenance when the whole thing is breaking down. I need a new one but, well, we spend all our time in deep space. I’m Jewelstar.”

“Even if it wasn’t breaking down, I’d figure it out by your footsteps.” Sunda admitted. “My younger sister has one. She’s an above knee amputee as well. I’m Sunda.”

“Wait...really?” Aegean asked, dumbfounded.  
“I have no reason to lie to you, good sir.” Sunda locked eyes with the pirate.  
“Who’s your little sister?” The pirate probed.  
“Her name is De’va. She lost her leg when she was seventeen.”  
Aegean frowned. “You have a child too, don’t you?”  
“Yes.” Sunda confirmed. “I am a mother to a teenager. Her name is Kittrina. She’s seventeen.”  
Aegean’s golden eyes widened. “Who are you really, Sunda?”  
“Sunda of House D’Riluth. I am the eldest living daughter of C’yra the Second.”  
“Well I’ll be.” The pirate mused. “That makes your little sister De’va D’Riluth doesn’t it?”

There was a collective hush among the Theran pirates and one by one they all began to take a knee in front of Sunda and bow their heads. Jewelstar was left standing, awkwardly. Until Aegean stood up and grabbed Jewelstar by the scruff of the collar and pushed him down.

“Juju!” He barked at Jewelstar. “Kneel idiot!”  
“I thought you just said you were Theran by race but not creed!”

“That was when I thought she was just some random Theran broad trying to inspire loyalty in me just because she was Theran too!” 

“Okay. But what exactly changed?” Jewelstar asked.

“She’s one of our freaking Princesses! The Queen’s big sister no less! Way different situation, Juju! Read the bloody room!”

Jewelstar rolled his eyes and kneeled. “Your Highness.” Angella looked at the evolved situation and stepped beside Sunda.

“Treat Miss Angella here as a friend of Panthera. When my sister learns of her, she will back up my claim without question, rest assured.” There was a collective movement among the group of pirates. They all took their right arm and struck it hard against their chest over their heart.

“Princess. I usually don’t care for authority figures since it’s usually an Eternian who needs to be put in their place, but since your daughter so kindly put an Eternian ally on my ship I’ve been getting pretty eager to toss her out. Just say the command.”

“So you’ve been working for Kittrina, Aegean?”  
“I have, Princess, yes.”  
“My daughter is misguided, not an enemy. We’ll try to parlay with the Sorceress.”  
“Are you sure that’s wise?”

“I do firmly believe our enemy right now shouldn’t be Eternia. At least for the moment.” That quiet admission at the end caught Angella’s attention but she dared not question it so openly now. That was a conversation for later.

“Then who are we fighting?” Asked Aegean.  
“The Usurper, Carnivus.”

Angella watched in amazement as several whoops and hollers were heard among the crowd and chewing. Sunda held her hands up.

“He will be defeated at Anwat-Gar.” Sunda declared. “Once he is, the moment he knows we escaped he’s going to try and stabilize his eroding control over our Motherland.”

Jewelstar looked to Aegean who beamed with excitement. “This means you can finally go back!”  
“It does.” Aegean smirked. “So we’re finally taking our home back from his grubby paws.”

“That’s the intention. Captain, if you would be so kind, send a message to a cargo ship by the name of Purrsia. Address it to Grimalkin. Tell her ‘the end lies where it began. Gemini will be waiting to see Andromeda.’ She’ll understand the rest.”

“Consider it a done deal, your Highness.”

*

Bow shuffled along as he was shoved. He kept glaring behind him, but Carnivus paid him no mind, humming a little tune. His heart clenched when he looked ahead. 

A bit younger, but at first glance one could mistaken Kittrina for Catra. Her hair was darker though, she still had a roundness to her face that had since begun fading from Catra’s, being older. She also lacked the bravado. She held her arm to her side and stared at the ground.

“Hello Uncle.” She said flatly, her eyes fluttering close.

“My, I have to say I’m rather surprised at how quickly you got here.” Bow’s gaze went to the woman beside Kittrina. Glimmer. “None of the matter, I’m glad to see you safe.” Carnivus towered over her as he approached. Bow glared when even Glimmer backed up, clearly uncomfortable. Kittrina held her breath but stayed rooted. Very gently Carnivus cupped her cheek, and then pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Your mother’s been worried sick about you ever since I sent you on this mission.”

“I’m sure she’d rather I’d stay with Aunt De’va than come back with you.”

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t. Your Aunt De’va is travelling down a road that only ends in her own death.” Carnivus answered by reaching for her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, “you see, unfortunately De’va is afflicted with the same curse of weakness as your grandmother had. They don’t know how to take a stand against Eternia. Kind of hard to do when you’re in love with their King...or future King.”

Kittrina frowned. “And you do?”

“I’ve been patient about it, but yes.” Carnivus admitted. “You’ll be pleased with what I have planned I think, and your Aunt? The best thing she can do for us now is help me continue our strong leadership or die a martyr.”

Kittrina stepped away from Carnivus and the man sighed. “You know, there’s no such thing as a complete monster, right?”

“You expect me to believe you?”  
“You don’t have to.” Carnivus’ voice was soothing, “just know I made a promise to your mother.”

Kittrina’s face darkened. Bow and Glimmer exchanged glances. Carnivus, reading the room turned to the two of them.

“You can leave.” He said simply. Bow blinked.  
“Just like that?”  
“We said this was a trade didn’t we? I’ll keep my word.”

“Like you did about not hurting Ancle Tab?” Kittrina hissed. Carnivus sighed.

“Tabby Manx has no sense for the greater good, and neither does De’va. Being married to each other? It suits them well. They’re alike.” Carnivus scratched his head. “I did what I had to.”

“Just like trying to put Aunt De’va to death, right?”

He rolled his eyes. “I had a plan. She takes the fall and her death is faked. I get to lead Panthera and she doesn’t have anything with the Monarchy like she always wanted. It was a misunderstanding of intentions.”

“I don’t believe you.” Kittrina spat. “None of us do!”

“You don’t have to.” His hand made its way to the small of her back and she stood up tall, agitated. “Now, I think it’s time we bow out, no?” He snapped his fingers and two of the chipped Therans led and half dragged Bow to Glimmer.

“I know you said not to,” Glimmer murmured, hushed, “but I….” Bow shook his head and let his arms fall about Glimmer’s shoulders before his legs gave out. Glimmer caught him, supporting him, then looked to Kittrina.

“Glimmer…” Bow’s breath was hot against her ear and it sent shivers down her spine. She tightened her grip around his waist, her expression schooling into something guarded, “I’m so glad to see you.” He gave her a cheesy grin.

“I know I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t just leave you.”  
“We’re not leaving, are we?” Bow asked. “We can’t do that. He’s going to hurt her.”

“Kittrina!” She called out. The shaking girl looked at Glimmer, curious. “I have one question for you before you go. I saw a vision with the help of a spell. On what used to be Halfmoon.”

Carnivus glowered. “So you must be the Queen of Brightmoon then? Our former sister Kingdom?” 

“I am.” Glimmer’s eyes found Kittrina’s as they widened in realization. “Where is Angella of Brightmoon?”

Kittrina flushed, embarrassed, confused and realizing. “Why do you want to know now?”

“Your little revenge scheme got my mother into this too. Are you satisfied? Now where is she?”

Kittrina pursed her lips. Bow held his breath. Glimmer’s hand curled into a tight fist.

“Uncle has her.” Kittrina admitted. All hell broke loose.

Glimmer threw a bolt. Kittrina ducked and ran to catch Bow before he could hit the ground and Carnivus roared when he was hit in the face. Glimmer charged with a scream and the large warrior of a man swung just as hard. Before she was hit, Glimmer teleported.

“I was wondering how you got here so quickly! Clever trick!”

“Hey, Archer Boy,” Kittrina put one of Bow’s arms around her shoulders and her free arm around Bow’s waist. “Think you can move with a little bit of speed to you?”

“Possib-- Ahh!” Bow bounced into a wall as Kittrina suddenly pushed him away before sending two of the soldiers that surrounded them flying with swift spinning kicks. Kittrina sidled up to Bow and began helping him along. “What are you and Glimmer planning?”

“You had the right idea and Entrapta made it work. Now we just need to unleash it. Hopefully she can keep my uncle preoccupied long enough for you to finish the rest.” Bow limped along as quickly as he could, worried about the yelling he could hear behind him.

“Don’t let any of them escape! Leave them alive and send a message to De’va!” Carnivus’ voice sounded more like a growl than words but Kittrina pushed on, heading up a set of stairs. Bow was with her, wincing every step of the way.

“They’re gaining on us!” Bow warned as he glanced behind them. 

“Yeah! I know! Nothing I can do about it except run faster!” Kittrina gritted her teeth then looped her arm around Bow’s waist tighter, pulling him close enough that he was practically on top of her. “Get on my back!”

Bow complied, and almost fell off when she transformed beneath him, dashing up flights of stairs. He glanced below to see the Therans clambouring behind them, gaining inch by inch. His heart beat hard in his chest, making his aching ribs hurt even more.  
Then he heard it, a scream. Glimmer’s scream.

“Glimmer! NO!”

“Don’t worry about it! I’ll circle back for her! Just focus on the task ahead!” Kittrina swore. They reached the top floor and Bow stumbled off while Kittrina backed up and threw herself into the heavy door. Two guards were posted, and without hesitation, she bit one’s arm and slashed the other’s chest. Then she transformed back, mouth and chest covered in red. She dug into her pocket before passing a small rectangular key into Bow’s hand. “Rest is up to you!”

“Wait!” Kittrina paused. “Be careful. We all want to go home, okay?”

Kittrina gave a small smile. “Alright.”

*

“Get these bastards off my ass!” Mog was swearing up a storm. He weaved between ships, friend and foe alike. He fired every opportunity he got, but there was one, close on his tail, closing in even now. Mog held his breath as he suddenly went into a nosedive. The ship followed and he hurtled towards the earth with the enemy fighter hot on his trail. Last second he pulled up. The other ship didn’t.

[That was risky.] Wordak noted softly. Mog rolled his eyes.  
“Pfft. Whatever, they’re gone Mr. Horde Clone, aren’t they?”

[You still have three more.] Wordak noted. Suddenly there was a large explosion on Mog’s starboard side. [Make that two.]

“What? Am I supposed to be in your debt?” Mog hissed. “Come off it Clone -- AAHH!” Mog felt the fighter rock with another explosion, and then there was smoke. He heard more gunfire and when he looked in his radar, another two had been shot down. He was enemy free.

[If you spend less time complaining about who your allies were, and more time on fighting the enemy we might actually be done before sunset.] Came a silky voice. Mog grumbled as he looked to his gauge, and began reaching for the manual light for the engine. He flicked it. Once. Twice. [I’m seeing smoke from your craft and your losing altitude. What’s your status?]

“Who the hell are you anyways?” Mog felt sweat beading on his forehead.  
[Lady Mau. Pleasure, if we all manage to live today that is.] She was practically chuckling.  
“Tch. Are all you ex-Lionesses this bloody annoying?”  
[You know, I take personal offense to that!]  
“Well you and your hand can figure out your frustrations without me. Buzz off.”  
[Not much of a gentleman, are you?]

Mog hissed, ignoring her as he balanced the wings of his craft. Panic was beginning to set in, slow but sure. He held his breath and hoped for the best.

[Mog. This is Command. My system’s telling me you're losing altitude quickly.] Mal called.

“It’s called my engines are out, your Majesty.” He snarled, pausing. There was no response back. “Surely your crown gave you enough of a brain to figure that out, or is knowing the basics of how planes work too plebeian for you now?” Mog grumbled. “What do you want? If it’s someone to kiss your ass, look elsewhere, would you?” He heard a beep and rolled his eyes when he looked at his screen. “This is?”

[The best I can do for you for an emergency landing. You should be able to glide there.]  
“That’s right below one of their dreadnaughts! I’ll be killed in seconds!”  
[How about this then?] Another beep and Mog looked at the map.  
“The beach? I don’t have enough altitude and it’s still too hot! Do you want me to die?”  
[Then I’ll come in with a tow line and we’ll fight tooth and claw if we have to. Hold on!]

“Hold on, she says, like I’m not dropping out of the sky like a freaking rock.” Mog adjusted his wings, his concern growing as tall towers began to enter his sight. “Not good! Come on! Even one engine or a bit of the auxiliary power would be great right now!” There was a sputter, and he sighed with relief as he finally held his altitude a bit, his descent slowed. 

Pink filled his vision a moment later, hovering over him. Reaching around himself, he put an anchoring cable around his leg. He opened his hatch, helmet on tight. Then he leapt out of the craft just as the Clawdeen-Nu sent out a hook, and he grabbed it, lining it up with his towing hitch before pulling himself back into his cockpit. He looked up with wonder as one of the Niemitz ship opened fire on one of its own, and that ship began catapulting towards the sea.

“Woah…”  
[Looks like all we need to do is hold out a little longer.] Mal’s voice sounded strained.

“That you’re doing, your Majesty?” Mog scoffed. “I’m impressed you got the Eternians to listen to you after nearly forcing yourself onto their Prince.” There was a long silence. “Wow. No smart ass response. I actually managed to shut you up for once, huh?”

[You knew.] Mal finally responded quietly. Stunned. Awed.

“Was in the workout room when that nonsense happened. I couldn’t overhear every single word but it was easy by the tone of the voices figuring out who was the aggressor.” 

[So you don’t know everything I said.] Mal sighed. [At least I’m spared that embarrassment.]

“Adam walked past and I could smell your stink all over him like you were in the middle of a bad heat or something.” Mog snorted. “You really have no self control, do you?” Mal suddenly laughed. Actual laughing. Loud, grating. She had many laughs but there was no joy in this one. If he was honest, there was only scorn and it was disturbing. Still, he felt indignant. “You think any of that was funny? What the hell is the Captain going to think when they find out, huh?”

[Tab is,] Mal was giggling, the sound grating, [Tab’s dead Mog! I already told you that.] 

“Yeah, I heard you the first time. I chalked it up to you being high, though I’m guessing you’re not considering you haven’t crashed.” He snorted. “Now’s not the time for shitty jokes!”

[I saw the blood.] Mal’s giggles started to sound more like sobs. [There was so much.]  
“How!?”  
[I killed them.] Then those sobs went back to laughter. [All of this shit just to still be miserable.]

“...Mal?” Mog asked, concerned. Her voice -- Mog had heard people speak like she was now back in his time in the labs. It was deranged, chaotic, their thoughts barely connecting. The words made logical sense but the flow of thought was fragmented. It was how those who were teetering terrifyingly on their breaking point of the brink of sanity spoke. “That can’t be true can it? As much of a bitch as you are I don’t think you’d ever lift a hand against Tab.”

Poor wording. Mal went eerily silent on the line. Mog’s mind immediately flashed back to being on Starship Eternia and the punishment the poor captain had been subjected to. The Theran tom paled at the thought. He stared out the window, watching as they came to a calmer descent towards a set of mountains. “Say something, damnit…”

[I just wanted to feel better. If I could make him feel good then maybe...] Mal whispered.  
“Adam?” Mog pieced together. “So you took advantage of his feelings.”  
[I just wanted Tab to be angry at me.] Mal followed up.  
“Well, nailed it. Tom and I are pretty pissed too. You’ve been acting like a bitch.” Mog informed.  
[I’m cursed. Anyone who tries to take care of me only ends up dead, Mog.]  
“Frankly I think that’s a bunch of crock, but…” Mog admitted sighing. “I do want you to be okay.”

[Tab’s gone now and all I have for our last moments together is resentment and bickering.] Mal giggled again. [I could have had so many other things. So many laughs, smiles, private jokes and intimate memories.] That laugh fell to sobs that were choked back. [Fucking hell.]

“You going to be okay there, your Majesty?” He didn’t mean her title as a barb, more as a jest but he still kicked himself for saying it when she stayed silent for way too long. “You’re...starting to scare me. Really scare me, Mal. Like make me think you’re about to snap for good, scare me.” He watched as the mountains came closer. Mog could see sand ahead. He heard her sigh.

[It’s fine. I can sit with all those feelings later.] Mal’s voice was calm now, eerie. [I won’t be too far behind. Good riddance, right?]

Mog’s face fell. “Just because you’re an idiot doesn’t mean I want you dead, idiot.”

[Hell of a thing to say.] She sounded almost like her normal self. It was all the more eerie to get a glimpse of everything she was bottling up and to know it was there beneath this thin veneer.

“Question for you.” Mog asked softly, certain it wasn’t the time but he couldn’t help after getting this glimpse of vulnerability. “Why the hell do you always let Adam do whatever he damn well pleases to you? Isn’t he supposed to be your best friend?” 

[What do you mean?] Mal asked, completely confused.

“What kind of an asshole is okay with constantly making his best friend and her partner uncomfortable by completely~” Mog grunted, unable to word the frustration. “Nevermind.” Mog informed her “know what, we’re going to have a long, deep talk about all of this bullshit of yours. Once we’re done here that is. Know what that means? You can’t die. That’s a direct freaking order, Mal! Hear me?”

A soft chuckle was the response. [Aye-Aye Captain Mog.] A pause. [Has a nice ring to it.]  
“I’m not the Captain, I’m just a guy with a workshop on a ship.”

[You know, Tab always said that if we ever wanted to just go back to Panthera for good, we would give the Purrsia to you. I don’t see the need for that to change.]

“Shut up, Mal.” Mog shook. “They aren’t dead. They can’t be. I won’t believe it until we find their body and bury them.” He didn’t get a response, just an uncomfortable silence on the line.

Mog frowned as the mountains grew closer and closer and then...too close.

“Hey Mal, you need to watch out for the terrain!” He warned. “Mal!” He watched as, not for the first time, the Clawdeen-Nu’s wing was ripped in two. Mal adjusted, but it was a little too late. Mog was jostled and they were careening away from the mountains at a hard right, coming in a lot sharper than would be deemed safe. “Mal! Are you alright? Mal!” All he heard was her laboured breathing on the line. “Shit! What the hell is going on!”

[Should have gotten out of the sky hours ago.] Mal admitted. [Sorry. Landing is going to suck.]  
“I’ll sit tight. Don’t kill us. Or yourself!”

Mog saw the grey shores of the Anwar Sea fill his vision as fear gripped his heart. 

*

Bow’s hands were shaking terribly. Still, he was typing as fast as he could as soon as he plugged the stick into the computer. The terminal lit up and Entrapta’s avatar greeted him and he had never felt so relieved.

That relief went out like an extinguished flame when he heard a loud thud and Kittrina’s scream. He looked to his left where he had his bow. His arrows slung about his hips as his ribs hurt too much. One positive of coming to the control room was that he now had his weapons back. Hopefully he would get what he needed done without having to use them, but he was getting worried.

Another scream. Glimmer’s scream.

“Come on!” He slammed the computer’s keyboard as he stared at the slowly growing bar. “Hold on just a little bit longer, Glimmer.” He whispered.

[Oh hi Bow!]  
Bow froze. Then his eyes lit up. “Entrapta!”  
[I’ve got good news, good news and good news! Which do you want to hear first?]  
“We don’t have a lot of time. I don’t think Kittrina can hold them off much longer.”

[Okay! First good news: I have new encrypted channels for us so we can talk without him overhearing.]

“Awesome job Entrapta!” Bow heard the heavy door creak and he grabbed his bow and an arrow and notched it, feeling his shoulder and ribs light up with fire.

[Second good news: some of the ships are firing on each other!]  
“What!?”  
[That big huge one? I believe it’s a Nimetz class? It just took out a Dreadnought!]  
“Why would they fire on their own forces?”  
[You know, I am ot entirely sure.] Entrapta admitted. [Though I did look at the call signs!]  
“What did you find out?”  
[They’re using two different languages. One is definitely First Ones, but the other…]  
“Is Theran isn’t it? Some of his forces are First Ones and some of them are Theran.”  
[It was the First Ones who fired.] Entrapta confirmed.  
“So his ranks are splitting?”

The door burst open. Bow frowned, paying Kittrina a small mind when she went flying and hit the wall. He stepped in front of her and unleashed a net arrow, trapping two Therans. Then another. It was a normal one, and he winced when it found its place right through the chest but kept firing.

[That’s what it seems like!]  
“Then we still have a chance!” Bow yelled back.

“Lynx, I hope so.” Kittrina wiped at her mouth and pushed herself to unsteady feet, her hand coming away bloody. She held her side and winced. “I don’t want to die here. Not when I have to make things up with my Aunt and support her now she’s a widow. I also have a new cousin to get to know.” Kittrina grinned at Bow, the smile radiant. “That’s why I’m fighting now.”

“Hey Entrapta,” Bow watched as Kittrina shifted again and tore through the three Therans in front of them. “How quickly can you turn their mind control chips off?”

[Oh! That’s the third good news!] Entrapta declared. [I can disable the network as of….now!]  
Bow let another arrow fly and was between cheering and scolding Entrapta. “Do you mind?”  
[Right! Of course!]

It was like a lightswitch. All of them suddenly froze. All of them looked about the room, confused, uncertain and all murmuring the same question: “where am I?”

Kittrina was quick on the draw, transforming back into her bipedal form as the formerly controlled Therans murmured to themselves in confusion as they slowly put the details together.

“You remember what you were doing, don’t you?” Kittrina called to them. 

“It was like...I was watching myself like a movie.” Said one. “I was there but...not.” Several others murmured in agreement. They all stood and looked at the bruised up, battered Kittrina.

“That sounds absolutely terrible.” Bow empathized. Kittrina took a breath.

“I’m Kittrina of House D’Riluth, Princess of Panthera. I want to let you know that both I and our rightful ruler are aware you are victims and will not punish you for the crimes you were made to commit.” She began. There was a sense of tension that left at that declaration. “Our true Queen is a merciful woman. One who forgave me without question despite the hell I put her through and I did it by my own volition. Yes, I was under distress, but I still made those choices. You all weren’t so lucky.”

“Do you know what happened to us Princess? What will happen to us?” Asked a soldier.

“Up until now you have been forced to follow a man named Carnivus D’Riluth. He’s a Usurper of the Throne, one callous enough to kill his own sister.” She informed them all. “My beloved Aunt, Her Royal Majesty De’va of House D’Riluth is the rightful Queen of our people. Though the war has made a Coronation impossible, she still bears the weight of the crown on her head.”

“The war?” Asked another soldier.

“Yes. I think it is time to acknowledge that we’ve been fighting two wars now: a war of survival from the influence of the Horde who are now defeated thanks to the warriors of Etheria, and a civil war with a man who would make himself King by slaughtering his own kin.” Kittrina, Bow noticed, jumped into the role so easily. Gone was the awkward angry teen and now, poised before them was a Princess. She was regal, strong and inspiring to her people. “Our Queen is on the battlefield now, in the sky. Fighting for you. Fighting for us all. Will you fight alongside her like I have chosen now?”

There was a quiet murmur among the group. Then curiosity as some poked their heads to look at her and Bow.

“Uh...hi? I’m Bow.”

“He is a friend of Panthera. This is Sir Bow from Etheria.” Kittrina informed stepping towards him and putting her arm around his shoulders. He quickly realized it was less for show and more for support when he felt her press her weight against him and wince for a moment.

“Uh… ‘Sir’ Bow?” He echoed in a squeak. Kittrina ignored it.

“Under the power invested in me by Her Royal Majesty, I order you all to help me bring in Chief Carnivus D’Riluth so that he may be brought to justice and our collective nightmare can be ended. All who are not too wounded to fight? Come with me!”

Kittrina pulled away from Bow then with a tremble in her legs. Bow frowned.

“I’m coming with!”  
“Of course. Gotta save your Queen and girlfriend right?”  
“Hey!”

*

Catra stood on the bridge, arms crossed tightly over her chest. Heterochromatic eyes blinked long and slow as she looked up and down the rows of soldiers. She didn’t trust them. You didn’t go from fighting someone to following their command just like that. The change was too sudden. It didn’t sit right, and she could tell and practically smell the distrust the Eternians had for her.

“May I ask who she is Your Highness?” Rio Blast had finally spoken the thoughts of everyone in the room and Catra panicked. Depending on how Adora answered, a lot of things could shift. She refused to get separated from the blond, no matter what, so she stepped forward.

“I’m Catra of House D’Riluth. Princess of Panthera.” She introduced herself. Adora’s eyes widened, her eyebrows raised and Catra turned to Adora in a way that only she could see and mouthed the word ‘later’ to her.

“Another D’Riluth?” Rio Blast was perceptive. He was clearly a general in the Eternian army and part of that meant knowing the political forces that might affect his world. Catra could tell by how he put his hand to his chin and hummed. “I heard rumours there was a long lost Princess of Panthera. That she hailed from the distant land of Etheria where she has been taken to, just like our Princess did. By whose name do you make your claim?”

Catra frowned. He was questioning her legitimacy. Of course. “My mother is Lybica D’Riluth, the former First Princess of Panthera. Etheria is located in the same place as the old Halfmoon. I was born there.”

“Hmmm, and is this accepted by the Queen, Her Majesty De’va D’Riluth?”

“You were literally fighting her up until now. If you all work a little harder to make sure my Aunt isn’t dead, I’m sure Her Majesty Queen De’va would be more than happy to tell you herself.”

Rio’s eyes narrowed. “To some, her death would be unfortunate. To others, fortuitous.”

Adora scowled and now stepped forward. “Queen De’va is my friend and a friend to Eternia. If any harm comes to her, I will use my authority to make sure you’re punished for it. Am I clear?”

Rio paused, then dipped his head. “Of course your Highness. What is your first command?”

Adora and Catra both released a breath they didn’t know they were collectively holding.

“Disable any Non-Eternian ship who was fighting with us.” Adora ordered. “I want to stress the ‘disable’ part. Those people aren’t fighting voluntarily. We need to do this while harming as few of them as possible.”

Rio frowned. “That comes at a great risk to us. One that means we could lose people.”  
Adora feared that would be the case. “Proceed anyways. We’re going to take that risk.”  
“But Your Highness~”  
“If we kill them indiscriminately, we might as well be killing civilians, right?”

The General grew very still. “Very well, but if I may, I wish to caution that should they fight us and turn on us still, they will do so with nearly their full force while we will have been whittled down and exhausted. Do you really trust Queen De’va to not turn the force of her own military on us once she’s done cleaning up after Carnivus?”

Catra looked to Adora who frowned.

“You don’t trust the Therans do you?” Adora threw back. Catra stepped closer to her.  
“They are known to be violent people.” Rio explained.

“You know, if you suddenly had someone show up at your home telling you to do as they say, I don’t think you’d take too kindly to it either.” Catra challenged. Silence was the response. “That’s what I thought.”

There was a murmur among the soldiers as they set to work. A grumbling about the canon Adora had helped destroy not to long ago, but there was a shuffle in the bridge. People went to their armaments. There was talk about how best to take a ship down and the engines were considered the sure bet. Catra walked over to her and stood close enough that they were bumping shoulders as Adora watched the flurry of activity.

“You’re spacing out.” Catra murmured softly.  
“I’m not sure how I feel….using my authority like this. To be a general in a war like this.”  
“It’s not different from being at home is it?” Catra asked. Adora blinked.  
“You...haven’t called Etheria ‘home’ in a long time.” She noted. Catra flushed.  
“Well...you’re there, and you’re going back, so I guess I’ll be going too.”  
“You sure?” Adora tilted her head. “You just declared yourself ‘Princess of Panthera’.”

“Yeah, well according to Mal, Halfmoon and Brightmoon were once sister Kingdoms. Maybe I can help her usher that back in with Sparkles’ help.” Catra reached for Adora’s hand. “What’s really on your mind?”

“The First Ones hurt your people badly. I’m one of them, and I’m afraid Catra.” Adora whispered to her, “afraid that if I don’t choose wisely, all of these people who follow me? They’re going to keep hurting your people. It’s like I’m holding a loaded gun and I’m not sure when it will fire.”

“I know you’ll do the right thing, so don’t be so silly.”  
“But what happens if it goes all wrong? Adam is with our Dad now what if~”  
“You need to stop doing that.” Catra huffed.  
“Doing what?”  
“Thinking its your responsibility alone.” Catra’s eyes narrowed.

“But I’m the one who has to fix it!”

“No you’re not.” Catra held firm. “You can direct them to do the right thing. That doesn’t mean they will choose to do it. Just like how Adam can direct them to do the wrong thing. That doesn’t mean they’ll do it either. The First Ones will choose for themselves. All you can do is guide them and hope they choose right….and realize if they don’t, it’s not a reflection of you, but them.”

“But if I don’t get it right, it’ll be just like StarShip Eternia all over again!” Adora lamented, then her eyes widened. “No. It would be way worse. So many people could die.”

“You’ve got me, and Mal -- even if she’s prickly with you -- helping on the Pantheran side. Sparkles and Bow will help us out too. Same with Tab, Tom, and Mog. Entrapta and Wordak will think of ways they can help as well. Someone doesn’t go from harming others to doing what’s right overnight. For an entire Kingdom of people with a history of this? I bet you it’s going to take quite some time. That’s just how it is.”

“But…”  
“I didn’t change overnight and you kept telling me there was a different way. Is that your fault?”  
“You weren’t ready for it.” Adora admitted. “I should have realized that.”  
“But you didn’t.” Catra noted. “And even if you did, was it your responsibility to make me ready?”  
Adora shook her head. “No. I couldn’t do that for you. I know that now.”  
“Then this is the same thing. They have to get there on their own for themselves.”

Finally Catra saw it. A sense of peace finally flitter into Adora’s eyes. She took a breath. Weeks full of tension started to ease just slightly, and she leaned into Catra’s shoulder just as the first barrage of cannons took out the engines of a Dreadnaught. Adora winced at the sight of a smoking ship making an emergency landing, and Catra squeezed her hand.

“Do you….” Adora’s voice was quiet again, “think you’d ever hate me for being Eternian?”  
“You’re you, dummy. Not your people.” Catra countered. “Of course not.”

Adora sighed again and smiled at Catra. “Thank you.”  
“Any time.”

Adora turned back to see another Dreadnaught making an emergency landing and thought to herself even though the sight of this battlefield was gruesome...maybe there was hope. For starters, their little weird ragtag family were all going to go home together on the Purrsia.

Perhaps that was enough for now?

*

Glimmer knew pain.

Being a part of the Rebellion meant fighting and fighting meant some gruesome injuries, even if her mother for years kept her away from the worst of it, she had experienced some bad ones over the years. Broken ribs. Broken ankles. Some nasty cuts.

This was perhaps the first time she had been pierced with anything, never mind this deeply. 

Inexperience is what she chalked up her massive oversight to. After all, Catra had mentioned her little transforming stunt wasn’t an exception but a norm for Therans. Glimmer had never fought Therans before other than Catra who until more recently couldn’t transform. Still, in all her time around them she hadn’t seen any of them really transform in front of her. So to say it slipped her mind was an understatement. First she had the upper hand. She could teleport around him fast enough that Chief Carnivus couldn’t keep up. He would swipe at her and then she would be behind him. Again and again. He got angrier and angrier.

That’s when it happened.

Bones creaked and snapped. He dropped on all fours and became a little larger than he was and much faster. Glimmer barely registered what happened when he lunged for her, snarling teeth and heavy jaw going straight for the throat. Instinct kicked in for Glimmer at the sight of the threat and she managed to dodge what would have been a fatal blow and his teeth sunk into her shoulder and by Etheria did that ever hurt. Perhaps even more than the bullet.

Glimmer screamed.

Those jaws, knowing they had their prey, locked. A new wave of pain bloomed as the teeth sunk in further. Glimmer’s scream died off as her left arm became slick and warm with blood. She tried to see beyond the white flashes of pain behind her eyes to this massive lion like being on top of her and could only think of how to get free. Then, with a sickening sensation, Carnivus tried to pull away, like a lion tearing the meat off the bone of a still living gazelle. Glimmer heard the crunch. Felt muscles threaten to pull apart.

She screamed again.

Free. She had to get free. She needed to. She balled up as much energy as she could and placed her hand at his jaw and blasted. His jaw came loose and she pulled her mangled shoulder out of his grasp with a wince. Crawling from his reach, Glimmer panted and contemplated teleporting out of there. She was just buying time for Bow and Kittrina after all. Hopefully they were done by now. Hopefully.

With a flash she teleported and appeared sadly, only by the entrance of the church. She slumped against the doorway, whimpering with pain.

“I just can’t...catch a break today. Why me?” She winced, then summoned her staff, leaning into it for support, her vision blurring. She heard a snort, and felt cold sweat run down her back as another transformed Theran faced her.

They were larger than Carnivus actually. They were mostly dark, but their head, paws and tail had white markings. Glimmer looked at this strange Theran with worry and then chuckled to herself as they growled and approached her. The Queen of Brightmoon closed her eyes in resignation.

“If you’re going to eat me...just don’t eat me alive, please? Have a little compassion.”

The creature strangely enough stopped in front of Glimmer and tilted their head at her. It took a moment, but Glimmer opened her eyes and blinked, noticing their vivid teal eyes.

“You can understand me.” She stated then just about smacked her own head. “Duh! Of course you can understand me! If Therans shift it doesn’t mean they’re mindless Glimmer. Stupid!”

“....G-gl-glimmer.” The Theran said in a deep voice.  
“Yeah. That’s me.” Glimmer smiled, then it faded. “Wait...you know my name?”  
“....Glimmer…” The theran echoed, bobbing their head, “Glimmer...friend.”  
“I guess we are now, huh buddy?”

Surprisingly, the Theran purred and nuzzled against Glimmer’s cheek. Then they gently brushed up against Glimmer’s bad shoulder. She yelped in pain, but the Theran purred lowly against it. The vibrations only made it hurt more and Glimmer whimpered.

“Not...work?”

“Sorry, it’s making it worse.” Glimmer smiled through the pain. “I guess that’s a Theran thing. Doesn’t work for me. Thanks though.”

A growl distracted them both. The unknown Theran’s ears stood up tall. Then its lips pulled into a snarl. It’s hair stood on end, tail became bushy.

“You didn’t get very far.” Carnivus declared, limping. “Who’s your little pet?”

“Like hell if I know!” Glimmer pushed herself to her feet just as the unknown Theran lunged at Carnivus. He transformed again. Glimmer backed away slowly, suddenly realizing she had become the third person in this two person battle. She watched them snarl and snap at each other. Roll around and pin in attempts to bite at each other’s throat.

Carnivus was on top for one moment and Glimmer saw her opportunity. She blasted him in the face with a swing of her staff. Caught him right in the eye. He roared, and snarled. Then he came for her. As if to thank her, the unknown Theran pushed to its feet. That was when Glimmer noticed how injured they were. Still they paid no heed to the injuries, leaping up onto Carnivus’ back, biting at the back of it. He dropped to the ground hard, slamming the unknown Theran. Glimmer fired another blast with her staff, and Carnivus backed off, shaking the pain away, lips pulled back. The Unknown Theran bit his hind leg, and his claws caught their throat. Blood coated claws and fur and stone alike. The other Theran collapsed from shock or pain, Glimmer wasn’t sure. Then Carnivus roared, the sound both a warning and a call.

Except no one came.

Carnivus managed to shove the unknown Theran to the ground, slamming its head into the rock. It didn’t get up again, falling limp. He dived to bite the jugular but Glimmer willed both hands to move and she began blasting him over and over again. He yelped, transforming back, half of his face bloody, his right eye closed either to keep blood out of it or it was damaged or both. He had blood along his mouth and neck and hissed.

“Where the hell are you! I gave you an order!” He screamed.

“They don’t follow your orders anymore, Uncle.” Kittrina declared loudly from above. Glimmer craned her neck to catch the young Theran standing on the roof. “These toms and queens, these soldiers, these Horde Orphans you took advantage of when you should have been helping them take their lives back? They’re free now. Free of you.” She declared. “As am I.”

“Aren’t you a little arrogant for declaring victory so soon?” Carnivus chuckled. He took two steps forward, and drew back when an arrow landed by his foot.

“You’ve lost, Carnivus!” Bow declared. “We don’t have to end this violently. Give up!”

“I haven’t lost at all! I’m still in this fight!” He crouched, ready to leap, but only leaped back when Bow fired another arrow. He bared his teeth. “Your toys can’t stop me!”

“Maybe not, but half your armada setting the other half on fire should.” Bow informed.

“The Eternians?” He spun around, looking at the sky, taking it in with a slowly dawning horror as the gravity of it hit hard. “Did they...betray me. For the likes of you? Why?”

“Because you are not worthy.” Kittrina informed. “The Pantheran Throne belongs to the lineage of Queen C’yra the Second. It belongs to my family, not you, you lying murderer.” Kittrina sighed. “All of your mind controlled soldiers will be free soon. Good riddance.”

Carnivus’ single, visible eye widened in realization. “How? That shouldn’t be possible.” The unknown theran growled low and staggered to their feet. Carnivus began backing up in shock and fury. “This...is some kind of joke. You’re just a pathetic excuse of a Princess of Panthera. A child who grew up in a gilded cage! As weak of a runt as your Aunt was!”

“Yet I was the only one who survived my litter, just like her.” Kittrina glared at him. “I’m happy to be a ‘weak runt’ like my Aunt and not a jealous bastard like you.”

Carnivus kept backing up as the formerly controlled soldiers began to file out of the repurposed church. There was terror in his gaze. Then furious rage. He ran. Straight at Glimmer.

“Glimmer!” Bow called. He fired two arrows. They landed in Carnivus’ back. He didn’t stop.

The unknown Theran leapt in front of her and lunged, tackling Carnivus to the ground. He struggled, tossing his head this way and that to avoid those jaws clamping around his neck. He was tired, holding the other theran back with one hand. They rolled around too quickly for Glimmer or Bow to line up a clean shot, and Glimmer could feel her face beading with sweat at the outcome.

“Wait! We don’t want to hurt the one attacking him!” Kittrina called to the soldiers.

A flash of silver. Bow caught sight of it first. Then Kittrina then Glimmer as Carnivus turned his hand and sunk the blade into the creature’s gut.

“NO!” Glimmer screamed.

The unknown theran made a sound that was almost like a scream. Carnivus kicked them away and rushed to his feet inelegantly. He then sprinted as best as he could with a noticeable limp. Bow clambered down and found himself too exhausted to keep pursuit. 

“Princess,” called one of the soldiers, “should we go after him?”

Kittrina wanted so badly to say yes. So desperately. She wanted to see Carnivus squeal, watch him panic as he saw his end as an unavoidable reality. Watched him suffer even just a fraction of what her mother suffered. She then looked around. To the injured Theran soldiers. To Bow who was barely standing and Glimmer who tried to not make it obvious that less than half an hour ago she nearly had her shoulder torn off. The young Princess then pressed the hand on her still bleeding side a little more tightly and took a breath, feeling her ribs ache in protest.

“Don’t.” She squeezed her eyes shut as she belted out the order. “Leave him.”  
“Are you sure?” Glimmer stammered, looking paler by the second.

“If we go after him, everyone who needs medical attention now won’t get it until later.” Kittrina pointed out gently. “That ‘later’ could turn out to be too late depending on the injury. People might die from that. He’s taken enough from us all.”

Bow grinned at Kittrina. “Good call.”

Kittrina looked away. “Thanks.” She headed for the ladder Bow had nearly busted himself getting down moments earlier and walked over to them, “Besides. He’s out of options. Even if he has loyal soldiers who aren’t chipped and he somehow manages to get off of Anwat-Gar, if the Eternians really have turned their back on Uncle there’s only one place he can go now if he wants to get a chance to hit us back.”

“Where’s that?” Glimmer noted.

“The motherland. Panthera.” Kittrina staggered over to the fallen, unknown Theran, looking at the wounds. “You know magic, right?” She looked to Glimmer, “We can do a quick patch up on ourselves and then we can look after this poor Theran that saved you. If we don’t I fear they’ll be gone soon. I could tell by the wounds that if we spent time on Uncle, this one wouldn’t make it.”

Glimmer nodded, and Kittrina hummed and reached for a knife at the small of her back. She began carving into the dirt ground before them a series of circles and runes, then she motioned for Glimmer and Bow to come closer, standing in the circle. It glowed with a violet light, and a warmth passed over them. Glimmer’s shoulder still ached like hell but it was no longer bleeding. Bow’s abdomen now had a fresh, pinkish scar along it, barely sealed over. Kittrina’s own cuts and bruises faded to an early stage of healing, and she felt her ribs have less pressure on them allowing her to breathe easier.

“That’s amazing!” Glimmer declared, her eyes sparkling. She began swinging her arm around.  
“Wait!” Kittrina warned.  
“AAAGH!” Glimmer pressed her lips together as all the pain came back. “Okay. It’s still bad.”

“It really isn’t much, sorry. I call it combat medicine. Enough to make sure you don’t bleed out and can fight a bit, not helpful for anything else.” Kittrina frowned. “I learned from Auntie. She’s much better with healing spells than I am. All I did was cover it over. Anything fractured is still fractured. Just a hairline instead of a clean break. Anything torn up still is, it’s just knitted with very fresh scar tissue. We need a real healing session if we want to be okay and not have long term problems, but that’s an issue for later.”

Bow and Glimmer nodded as they went over to the fallen, unknown Theran.

“Hey there, stranger,” Kittrina called to them, “can you hear me? We’re going to help you. Can you talk?” No response. Kittrina knelt down and looked over to Bow and Glimmer. “If it’s okay we’re going to touch you.” A low growl was the reply. “We just need to turn you over to get at the worst of it. We’re just trying to help.” Kittrina gestured with her head to Bow and Glimmer and together they nodded. “On three. One. Two. Three.”

They turned the unknown Theran over. Kittrina’s eyebrows raised as her eyes traced the long, old scar from shoulder to hip. She frowned. So did Bow.

“I know I’ve seen someone with a scar like this somewhere.” Bow admitted softly as he scrutinized it. “It seems familiar somehow.”

“How can a scar like this be familiar?” Glimmer asked. “Most of it would be covered by clothing.”

“Yeah, but you don’t forget something like that on a person. It’s too noticeable and it really tends to stand out.” He stroked his chin. “I haven’t seen it recently though, I don’t think.”

“When did you see it?” Glimmer was now confused.  
“Definitely before we got on StarShip Eternia.”

“So it’s one of the crew from Purrsia?” Glimmer asked. She swore Kittrina turned ashen quite suddenly at that news.

“Well...given her leg, maybe it’s Mal?” Bow frowned. “It seems she’s got a lot of old injuries.”

“Mal does, but she’s in the sky.” Glimmer noted. “I saw her take off. We spoke to her before we came here. Plus that wouldn’t add up to your timeline. You didn’t meet Mal until after we got on StarShip Eternia, and this Theran has all of their legs. It couldn’t be her.”

“Aunt De’va can’t transform anymore anyways.” Kittrina spoke up, hushed. “It’s Auncle Tab.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carnivus is sadly not quite done. But rest assured, he will get what is coming to him soon.
> 
> I just think someone as duplicitous as him shouldn't die like a warrior. An aristocrat turned tyrant? There's something poetic about seeing them reduced to nothing, having their pride be shown as vapid and going out not with a bang but a whimper. I hope when you see what's in store for him that you agree it's rather fitting for his arc.
> 
> And it would seem deep down inside Tab is still there. Too bad Mal and Mog are crash landing.  
> I feel bad for Tom whenever he finds out about all of this.
> 
> Some Catradora fluff of Catra supporting Adora. I hope it was cute and that poor Adora doesn't let her worry of her responsibilities overwhelm her too much.
> 
> Kittrina finally helping and fighting the good fight...to be honest, I rather like this turn of events. The original outline to this story had a very different outcome for her, one that was tragic, but as I kept writing her all I saw was a young woman who was trying hard to win a better situation for herself and her mother and I changed her trajectory. Not to sound too ominous but let's just say she'll get one of the things that she thought she wanted so badly and realize she would have preferred not having it at all, especially at the cost that came with it. Fortunately, she won't be alone and she'll make the best of it.
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “So….” Starla sighed, “It’s kind of like Theran post-traumatic stress?”  
> “For some I guess it is.” Percival agreed.
> 
> “I mean...Jewel and Tallstar can’t sleep through the night anymore. I get nightmares all the time now. Sometimes we all snap at each other over seemingly nothing.” Starla revealed.


	32. “You helped create the rage that you’re now trying so desperately to exterminate.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam finds himself haunted by his decisions and his image of who Mal is versus who he thought she was.  
> Percival, Tallstar and Starla chase after the Feral Tab hoping to intervene before things get out of hand.  
> Adora finds herself in the unusual position of dealing with the aftermath of battle as a commander.  
> Catra tries her best to give Kittrina a chance to prove herself, though Catra has her hesitations.  
> Mal and Mog have a heart to heart about her role in the crew and their mutual struggles.  
> Angella, the Sorceress and Sunda have a quiet chat and make a reluctant alliance.  
> Adora and Catra try to return Tab to normal and find a remnant of an old foe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! December got messy there as the season does and typical for me I had quite the emotional hangover! Doing better now. :)
> 
> As always your kudos and likes are greatly appreciated. I'll answer to any comments and they are deeply encouraging so feel free to drop one by.
> 
> CW for this chapter: A very brief reference to abuse in the theran trafficking scene and some talks of PTSD episodes resulting in violence

Adora was all too glad the day came to a close in the best way possible. A communication from one of the Theran ships declaring their surrender and request for ceasefire. There was much murmur about what this technically meant. After all, Eternia was on the same side as these people or rather these forces were and the Eternians were the one who opened fire.

The political ramifications of this was enough to make Adora’s head spin, make her want to hyperventilate, run off, lie in a ball and scream. Instead, here she was trying to make heads and tails of it and come across like she was a competent leader rather than a young woman without a single clue of what the heck she was doing.

“Just breathe Adora.” Catra rasped from beside her. “It’s all over now.”

Adora nodded. “Get Queen De’va on the line. I want her input on what to do. These are her people after all.” There was a long pause. One where they rushed to do as she said but when the delay became too long she looked to Catra.

“She didn’t get shot down. She wouldn’t.” Catra shook her head.

“Who was with her last? Ask around!” There was a crackle of voices on the comms as the question began to be asked.

[She was giving us orders up until about an hour ago.] Came Lady Mau’s account.  
“What happened then?” Adora pressed.  
[She helped a fighter in distress. Towed it even. It’s engines were taken out.]  
“Do you know where they went?”  
[Not sure, but they had to have made an emergency landing. It would be a risky one though.]

Catra squeezed her shoulder as worry bloomed on Adora’s face as they got their next lead.

[Brother Mog was shot down!] Wordak informed, worry tinging his voice. [The enemy took out his engines. Except the enemy are now our friends? This is all confusing.]

“Thanks Wordak.” Adora sighed again.

[I haven’t heard from Mog, Tab or Mal for hours.] It was Tom and he sounded exhausted and irritated. [I know those three. They should have reported by now. Something is very, very wrong. We need to find them. Right now.]

“We haven’t been able to get Mog or Mal either, and no one knows where Tab is.” Adora added.  
[I don’t like this. I don’t like this one freaking bit.]  
“Where was Mog the last time you were aware?” 

[Still in the sky, but barely. Somewhere North-West-North from my current position. Here, let me send you rough coordinates. I can head over that direction and start searching.] There was a beep.

“Tom?” Catra cut in. There was a pause.  
[Yes kid?] A sigh. [You’re about to tell me to frickin head back to the Purrsia, aren’t you?]  
“You’re usually the voice of reason, old man…” Catra gave a bashful smile.  
[If the three of them are out there dying, what the hell is going back to the ship going to do?]  
“If you fall out of the sky cause you run out of fuel or are too tired to fly, what’s that going to do?”  
[From the mouths of babes.] Tom sighed, annoyed. [Fine. Heading back, but keep me posted.]

Catra shook her head. “I’m trying not to get worried, but this isn’t helping.” She looked over to a soldier. “Has the hail worked yet?”

“There is still no response from the last frequencies their ships were using.”  
“Damn it, where are those two? Where’s Tab?”

[Adora! Catra!] Entrapta’s giggle brought a slight smile to her face. [Is the fighting over?]  
“Officially.” Adora smiled despite herself. “We’re trying to account for everyone.”  
[Hmmm. Both the Swordfish-Two and Clawdeen-Nu stopped transmitting their location.]  
Adora’s heart sank at that news. “How long ago was that?”  
[About an hour.]  
“So when Mog’s ship was going down. Crap!”  
[Maybe they botched the emergency landing?] Entrapta asked innocently. Adora winced.  
“Do you have the last known positions?”  
[Oh yes! Of course! That would narrow the search area down considerably!]

There was typing and then a beep and then Adora looked at the terminal and frowned. That area was still… much larger than she would like.

“Everyone who is still fit to fly right now, I want you to start searching in sections! I want someone on the ground too!”

Rio bowed his head. “Yes princess!”

Adora held the bridge of her nose. “All of us are going home. All of us.” Catra frowned and nuzzled against her as they tried again and got Bow.

[Adora!]  
“Bow! Are you alright? Are you with anyone?”  
[Kittrina and Glimmer are with me. We’re pretty badly banged up.]

“Kittrina? She’s with you?” Catra asked suspiciously. “Why? How?”  
[That might be better for her to explain.] There was a murmur in the background and Catra felt herself grit her teeth.

[H-hi.] Came an awkward stammered greeting. [Kittrina here.] 

“Yeah, we know who you are.” Catra snapped. “You better not hurt our friends! If anything happens to Sparkles or Archer Boy there, I’ll come for you personally!”

[I won’t do anything to hurt them I promise!]  
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”  
[I mean, I know that you know that I was working with Chief Carnivus.]

“You literally sicced an entire armada on us!” Catra growled. “So excuse me for wondering how the hell you’re just suddenly paling around with us now.”

[Fair e-enough!] Kittrina stammered, [It was wrong. I was wrong and now there’s a huge mess.]

“A mess? Is that really what you’re going to call this?” Catra snapped. “You literally tried to kill all of us!” Adora stood in front of her and shook her head. 

“Catra, yelling at her isn't going to help us right now.” She warned. Catra’s eyes narrowed.

“Well,” Catra sneered, Adora looked at her in concern, “you might have got what you wanted anyways, Kittrina. Aren’t you happy?”

[What I wanted?] Kittrina sounded dumbfounded.  
“Mal’s missing.” Catra revealed. “Don’t play dumb.” There was a gasp and then a whisper.  
[No. I…] Kittrina sighed, [Look, I’m so sorry. I know it doesn’t fix anything.]  
“Damn right it doesn’t.”

[I was furious with Aunt De’va but I’m realizing being furious with someone isn’t the same as wanting them dead, get me, cousin? I didn’t want this. Not truly.]

“I understand.” Catra crossed her arms. “And I don’t recall accepting you as my cousin.”

[Fair.] Adora could literally hear the teenager wince. [Let me do what I can then. I saw Ancle Tabby last. They met me after you and I had our altercation and made me realize...I’ve been a huge idiot. I can explain more later when things calm down but Carnivus took Ancle Tabby out.]

There was a collective breath held between Catra and Adora.

“Took them out?” Catra echoed.  
[I saw them get shot myself.]  
“And what the hell did you do?”

[I….] Kittrina sighed, [I ran, okay! I ran away! Ancle Tabby told me to but I still ran for my life and left them to him. I left them to die.]

Catra hissed. “Hypocrite.”  
[He was going to capture me and hurt me if I didn’t!] Kittrina yelled. [I was scared!]

Catra’s hands balled into fists and Adora shook her head. “I thought you didn’t abandon your family like your Auntie that supposedly abandoned you and your mother?”

A long pause, then a pained laugh. [Okay. Yeah. That was a low blow but I totally deserved you swiping at me there.] Catra’s ears flattened when she heard Kittrina sniffle, [You’re being really petty right now, and I know I have no right to tell you not to be.] Kittrina called out, her voice shaking. [You’re not Auntie De’va, so I shouldn’t expect you to respond like she did. That was her prerogative and you have yours. Oh Lynx,] Kittrina sighed heavily, and choked back what sounded like a sob. [I’m trying to pick up the pieces. I don’t need you to be graceful about it, but I do need you to understand that I’m trying here.] She sighed shakily, sniffling again. [I’m not asking to be excused for what I did to everyone, I’m asking you to help me fix what I can!]

Adora nodded in agreement and Catra threw up her hands in the air and huffed. “Fine! I’ll give you a chance! Just don’t make any of us regret it.”

[Thank you so much cous...Catra.] Kittrina responded gently.

Adora sighed with relief. “What happened after you ran away?” Adora pressed for information.

[I met with Aunt De’va and told her of Ancle Tabby’s passing. She had a bit of a breakdown near the harbour when she saw all the blood.]

“That’s when we saw the Grimalkin, wasn’t it?” Catra asked.

[Yes. I’m not sure what that was. It was more of an image than a transformation, but anyways…] Kittrina continued, [She took Clawdeen-Nu. I spoke with her last when Carnivus asked for a trade for your friend Bow that he was keeping hostage.] Catra felt like the world was spinning. She stepped back a few steps and Adora steadied her.

“So...Tab’s really dead?” Catra murmured.  
“There’s more, isn’t there?” Adora knew they didn’t have the full story.

[Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! I can answer some of that!] Entrapta called on the line. [The surrender is because I hacked into Chief Carnivus’ system and disabled all of the chips! Genius isn’t it?]

“Thank goodness!” Adora agreed. “Entrapta that’s amazing! You’re amazing!”

[We’ve cut him down at the knees, but Uncle still got away.] Kittrina informed.  
Catra growled at that. “You mean you let him get away!”

Kittrina sighed warily. [Yeah, I did let him get away because if I didn’t, me, Glimmer and Bow would have bled out!] She snapped. Catra recoiled. [Sorry. Sorry.] She echoed. [There’s actually another reason. A very good one, I swear!]

[Kittrina helped protect me from the mind controlled Therans while I uploaded the virus that Entrapta created.] Bow interjected. [That meant Glimmer was fighting Carnivus alone.]

“Glimmer, are you okay?” Adora called out.

[Nothing some advanced medicine won’t at least make it bearable!] Glimmer joked with a pained cry at the end. [Nearly lost my arm! No big deal! Would have been toast if a transformed Theran didn’t help me out, but they got pretty hurt. They’re almost dead. We’re trying spells to heal them, but it’s only doing so much and they keep snapping at us if we get too close.]

[That’s the real reason why I didn’t want to pursue Uncle.] Kittrina stepped in. [Because I’m pretty sure that transformed Theran here? It’s Ancle Tab.]

“But you just said you saw Tab get shot?” Catra replied.

[I know! I did! Right in the heart! But...I know the scar this Theran has. I doubt we just came across another Theran with blue eyes and the same scar by pure coincidence.] 

[Plus they spoke!] Glimmer added, [Very briefly. Very broken. They knew my name.]

Adora mulled over the deluge of information. “How is this possible?”

Kittrina sighed. [Many Therans, even those who struggle to transform, do so in life threatening situations. It’s instinctual self preservation.]

Relief flooded Adora and Catra both. Collectively they sighed.

“So they’re alive.” Catra’s lips twitched into a relieved smile. “Can we speak to Tab?”

Kittrina sighed. [That’s part of the issue, unfortunately.] Kittrina paused. [I have reasons to believe Ancle Tabby has gone, what we know among our people as ‘feral’.]

*

Hands. Warm. They slid over his arms, up to his shoulders and rested there. 

Adam hummed gently when he felt her weight rest on his lap, felt lips press to his neck. He felt the sharp point of her teeth. The sharp point of her claws as her hands smoothed over his bare chest. She sighed, a flutter of breath that warmed him, but he could feel those fangs. She was always both alluring and alarming to be around, and he put his hands on her hips as if he could keep her there. With him.

“Something on your mind?” She purred softly in that rasp of a voice of hers.  
“Tab’s dead.” Adam murmured to himself.  
“Who?” She asked teasingly, her index claw running down the line of his jugular.  
“De’va,” Adam frowned, “you were with them for years.”  
“And?”  
“Doesn’t it matter to you?”

“Of course it does.” De’va remarked softly, “but the dead don’t come back Adam. The only thing to do is move on. I swear, you Eternians are so sentimental when it comes to things like this.”

“Isn’t love supposed to be Eternal?”  
“Heh. Think like that and emotions will ruin you.” De’va chuckled and then nipped at his neck.  
Adam gasped. “De’va….what if they could come back?”

She pulled away, looking at him with her mismatched eyes. “You’re being so silly right now. Even if they could, you’ve wanted this for so long, didn’t you?”

“What are you saying?” Adam’s brows screwed together. Something was terribly off.

“Now you can have what you want so much.” De’va ran her thumb over his lips. “You’ve won.” She leaned in and kissed him. “Isn’t that what you wanted? Me to yourself and Eternia sharing its radiance with us all?”

“It’s what my father always taught me, but...you made me see that maybe I was wrong.”

“Did I?” This spectre with De’va’s voice asked with a sultry smirk. “Well maybe I was mistaken. How many families have been broken by all this war, Adam?”

“Many. Too many.”

“Mmm. And you think you can fix all of that?” Her hand was roaming now, along his side, playing a song on his ribs. “With what? A wave of your magic sword?” She chuckled, her fingers dancing along his side. He tried not to squirm: he was a bit ticklish. “Bring everyone back like it never happened? Let Eternia return us to some grand, golden age that never truly existed?”

“Father thinks it’s possible. I want to trust his vision. A universe without war. A happy peace.”  
“A peace of silent suffering and forced smiles?” De’va countered. Her hand landed at his hip.  
“No, it’ll be a peace made from justice. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Will you now?” He felt a pull by his left hip, but didn’t break her intense gaze. He nodded at her, solemnly. “Now just at whose expense will that peace come from? Certainly not Eternia’s? After all you’re so enlightened,” her tone was mocking, “that you must be the ones to lead us, right?”

“We’ve only done what we deep down thought was right.” He couldn’t help the brief flush of indignation that hit him, the urge to call her a hypocrite. “Just like you always have. You can’t fault us for that.” Adam’s eyes narrowed. “What else could you possibly want from us?”

Adam gasped when he saw it. She pulled the sword of power from it’s frogger. It flashed silver in the flickering light of the room, before he could react he felt it sink in, and the pain was so intense it was blinding. De’va leaned over him, forehead pressed to him, her lips pulled into a smile wide enough to show off her fangs.

“Everything that was stolen from me.”

Adam awoke with a jump, drenched in his own sweat. It took a moment for his heart to still, for his mind to realize he was somewhere familiar. His own bed. Well, one of his many beds really, but the one that belonged to him on his father’s ship. He blinked a few times before stumbling out from the covers, pressing a hand to his sternum. Checking.

No blood. No wound. He went to the mirror to make sure, and looked at his ragged appearance. He really took in the dark circles around his eyes, then pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Tab is dead.” He murmured. He looked at his night table where there was a heavy bottle, a glass and a dossier. “De’va is missing.” He sighed. He picked up both bottle and glass and poured the amber liquid before downing it straight. “And all I cared about was not being second choice.” Adam squeezed his eyes shut and sighed before moving about to drink, shower, drink, change, have another drink, check for an update and have yet another drink. He stumbled out of his quarters perhaps later than he should have, but he looked presentable and he had brushed his teeth enough that the smell of alcohol could not be detected.

He spotted Magus Angora and Teela on the observation deck. Given how they stopped in the middle of their conversation, and quite abruptly at that it was clear he was the topic of discussion. The Prince of Eternia tried not to let his displeasure show on his face, but the father of the Theran he once held dear raised an eyebrow.

Damn. Could never fool a Theran’s nose, could you?

“I didn’t know you preferred something with so much peet over something sweeter, Your Highness.” Angora remarked. Teela looked at him owlishly. Adam found himself standing taller.

“I decided to try something different.” Adam frowned. “I heard it was a good pick.”

“Ah, a young man trying to prove he’s an adult. Instead of owning what you like, you pick something you hate in order to blend in and gain approval.” Magus Angora smiled. “Youth.”

“Are you trying to insinuate something, Magus Angora?”

“Not at all, Your Highness.” His small bow was frankly, mocking. Adam grit his teeth, “I am merely suggesting that the true mark of maturity is in making decisions and not backtracking on them because they weren’t to someone else’s liking. Enjoying what you do and letting others trip over themselves calling you a child as they drink something they hate.”

Adam turned his eyes to Teela who’s green gaze widened, and then she quickly looked away.

“Listen, send your daughter a message, Magus Angora.” Adam schooled his voice into something regal. “We’ll be meeting on Panthera’s moon, Leo.”

Magus Angora bowed. “As you wish.”

“Teela, come with me.” She did as she told as Adam pushed past Magus Angora, bumping into his shoulder. As he passed the Theran Tom, Adam could see his tail swing with agitation, and spotted his expression turn into a grave scowl. “He thinks I betrayed his daughter.”

“Didn’t you?” Teela asked in a soft voice.

Adam closed his eyes. “Not first. I wasn’t the one who tried to force myself on anyone.”  
Teela flinched at that, but continued to follow him. “Is that going to be your justification?”

“It’s not a justification,” Adam assured as Teela realized they were heading towards the labs. She shuddered, “it’s a reasoning. We were best friends. If she can treat me as just another tool for her needs, can she really be trusted?”

Teela sighed, looking at him as they stepped into the lab. “You’ve been drinking again.”

“I couldn’t fall asleep.” His eyes trained to the green glowing cylinders in the back. Teela hesitantly followed him and he stopped in front of the middle chamber. Teela looked with him at the visage of Queen Marlena, looking so peaceful, as if asleep. “We’re the only ones who can make this technology into something wonderful instead of something so damaging.”

“You mean Eternia?” Teela was catching on.  
“Yes.” Adam whispered, putting his hand on the cylinder.  
“But is it right?”

“We’d be giving people the lives that were wrongfully stolen from them. Maybe it’s not natural, but it’s justice. A truly, transforming, restorative justice.”

“And if we just end up in another war again?” Teela questioned. “Who do we pick to bring back and who do we leave behind?”

Adam wouldn’t answer. Teela sighed.

“Adam. I know she hurt you, but I don’t think this is the way.” Teela admitted.

“Did you know how different Therans are from us Teela?” Adam said instead. “My father and I were discussing it. Eternia...we believe love is Eternal. My father has never stopped loving my mother, even though she has been gone for so long. That is why he’s willing to go this far. There’s something so pure about that.”

“Pure, or simply sad?” Teela threw back. Adam glared.

“Therans on the other hand...some do mate for life but they don’t see it as a necessity. They see love as a fleeting thing that is worth being chased in the moment and forgotten about afterwards. Some call them loose, but I don’t think that’s quite right.”

“What would you call them then?” Teela’s hands curled into fists.

“Fickle.” Adam murmured. “And if history has taught us anything it’s that a Kingdom of the Fickle is doomed to fall anyways.”

*

“Ughhhh,” Mog felt wedged in his cockpit, the seat broken, his back lit up with pain, but as he wiggled fingers and toes he found himself strangely in one piece. The smell of burnt fuel filled his nostrils. He rolled his shoulders and tilted his head and felt the world spin. “That’s gonna freaking smart for a while.” He grumbled, rubbing his head, then frowning when it came away bloody. He looked around and found a canopy of trees ahead and then sand only a few meters away. He froze and took quick inventory of himself. Toes still wiggled. Ankles and knees still flexed, hips and tail moved fine. Shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands and fingers. All check. Just some really deep bruising. Mog began pressing buttons on his dashboard, trying to get the radio to work and frowned when all he heard was static.

“Purrsia! This is Mog! I’ve crashed on a beach and need an evac and medical, over.” Nothing.

“Panpanpan! This is Sweeper Zero-two twenty-two. I’m stuck on the beach of Anwar Sea, south of the mountains after an emergency landing! Requesting assistance. Over!”

There was no response.

Mog moved slowly, finding the emergency hatch release and pulling. He heard a slight hiss, and then it was stuck. He glowered and began to kick at the glass until it finally peeled back. He sighed, clambouring out and spilling over the side in a heap. Slowly, he pulled himself into a crouched position and crawled from the line of trees onto the open sand before rolling over. He laid on his back, staring at the sunset as the red had finally given way to purple and the coolness of night was threatening to set. Fire. He needed fire. Warmth. Shelter. Right. Oops.

The foothills of the mountains had wood in abundance. He could see that. If he was lucky he should be able to find enough dried out pieces to make a fire. It wasn’t the issue. What was, he realized, was the fact that he didn’t land alone. Sunlight would be nonexistent soon and while Therans could see in the dark, complete darkness was always hard to see in. Even some light was preferred. He staggered and followed his nose for the scent of jet fuel. There was no point to try and smell blood below that burning smell. It wasn’t going to happen.

In the purple light, he caught the pinkish hue of the Clawdeen-Nu wedged at the edges of the treeline and the sand. He jogged to it. Like his own ship, much of it was battered, but the cockpit was practically pristine. All he could think of was how he had just finished helping Tom repair the Clawdeen-Nu in particular not too long ago.

“Hey Mal! Aren’t you the budget woman? You know we ought to stop destroying your fighter right? Repairs are freaking costly!” He called loudly to her. No response. He knocked on the hatch and still got nothing. “Maybe it’s stuck?” He wondered, reaching around and finding the outside emergency release.

He had to put more effort into it than he expected, but finally it released and he shoved it up and out of the way to find Mal leaning against the side, shivering terribly. Instinct kicked in. He looked for blood, found none, went for her helmet and gently eased it off her face. She gasped for air like she hadn’t been breathing in ages.

Mal looked at him, mismatched eyes slightly out of focus and dilated. “You’re okay. Thank Lynx!”

“You’re looking like hell.” Mog frowned. “Couldn’t be bothered to check on little old me? Gosh, I’m so hurt.” He joked. “Here,” he reached for her but she didn’t budge, “let me help you out.” 

“Don’t move me.” Mal warned. Mog looked at her, confused.  
“We can’t stay here. It’s too exposed and it’s going to get cold.”  
“My legs.” Mal put a hand to her face. “They started going numb hours ago. I can’t feel them.”  
“Then…” Mog put it together, “If I move you whatever’s causing it could get worse?”  
“Sorry about the landing.” Mal shifted gears. “I couldn’t move the rudder pedals anymore.”

Mog sighed, sitting on the nose of the ship. “Is this worse than usual?” He was in problem solving mode. “How often does it happen, when did it start?”

“Mog,” Mal’s voice was hushed, “they’ve been saying at the very least I’ll probably need a cane. At worst, well…” She shook her head. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do but it’s not something you can fix.” Mal sighed. “This is something where I need to stop tempting fate. Slow down. Give my body a chance to actually heal and hope for the best.”

“You sure? Try me.” He sounded desperate. Mal decided to humour him.

“Since Starship Eternia.” Mal murmured. He looked at her, his single eye reading her face. “At least two or three times a day until more recently. Now maybe five times a week?”

“So there is improvement. That’s a good thing, right?” Mog knew he was reaching when Mal’s face fell. “You’re jacked into the Dummy Plug, aren’t you? That should bypass any injury all together. It goes right to your brain.” He noted.

“It’s not doing that. Maybe my brain’s realized something’s very wrong with my legs too?” Mal hung her head. “They’re numb but also like they’re on fire. In fact since I jacked into the fighter, they’re the worst they’ve ever been. Everything from the thigh down is just...”

“Like the Dummy Plug made your nerves worse?” Mog proposed. “Maybe strained them?”  
“Maybe it did. Maybe I pushed my luck too far in this fight.”  
“Well…” Mog wasn’t sure what to tell her. His invention was meant to help not harm, “shit.”  
“Hate to say it but I think...my flying days are officially over, Mog.” Mal gave a wan but sad smile.

“I’m sorry.” Mog reached for her hand. “I know flying was the first time ever that you didn’t feel restricted by your body when I made the Dummy Plugs.” He watched Mal put a hand to her mouth, pressing it there tight. Her eyes fluttered close but he saw the tears that escaped.

“It’s okay. I’ll find something else that will give me that feeling.” Mal wiped at her cheeks haphazardly with the back of her hands. “That sense of...freedom.” She didn’t sound sure, but Mog let it go, instead of pressing her on it. He reached for her hand and held it. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was De’va, the missing Princess of Panthera.”

“Well, in your defence,” Mog sighed, “in all the years you’ve known me? I haven’t exactly been quiet about just how much I hate and resent the nobility. In fact I’ve been loud about how poor my opinion is of the people who watched and did absolutely nothing while people like me, the Horde Orphans, suffered first by being abducted by the Horde and then after we were saved from it. All the stigma. How people only adopted some of us as a status symbol for the sake of virtue signalling. It was disgusting and the Monarchy did little about it.”

“I still should have trusted you more. Trusted you knew me well enough to know….”

“That you’re an asshole, but a well meaning one?” Mog shot her a grin. She chuckled.  
“Yes. That.”  
“The reality is, the way our people are? It stinks sometimes, but you’re not personally at fault.”  
“Still, Mog, I’m the Queen now. That means I inherit that legacy and the power to change it.”

“You can’t be expected to single handedly change things overnight, or completely. That isn’t fair to expect from anyone, especially for something that requires the buy in of the entire Kingdom. The people have to want to change too, you know.” He stretched his arms over his head. “Look, not telling me is water under the bridge now.” Mog told her. “Wait here a sec, kay?” She nodded.

Mog left her fighter to go back to his own to get emergency supplies. He brought it back to her and managed to squeeze in beside her. It was a tight fit, but one he deemed necessary as the temperature was beginning to drop a little more steeply. He wrapped them in blankets and smiled when Mal looked groggy.

“Sleepy?”  
“You have no idea.” Mal admitted. “Probably won’t from the pain though.”  
“If you do manage, I’ll keep watch. I even have some flares.”

They fell into a comfortable silence at that and Mog was surprised when Mal tilted herself so she was leaning into him. It was a quiet plea for comfort, genuine and innocent and he wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder.

“I feel I have nothing to give.” Mal quietly brought up. “Every time I have a setback I feel broken. Worthless. I worry if I don’t take whatever people were willing to give me, I’ll have nothing. That scares me.” Mal licked her dry lips. “So yes, I let Adam get away with things that I know makes Tab question our marriage. I let Adam walk all over me whenever he throws a fit because I feel if I don’t just take it on the chin, I’ll lose him, or the alliance, or both.” Mal sighed. “By whatever grace, Tab has never walked away, though I don’t think I could blame them if they did.”

Mog blinked. “What?”  
“The answer to your question. Why I always let Adam disregard my and Tab’s boundaries.”  
“Oh. So you figured out what I was trying to say earlier?” Mog shook his head.  
“You’re pretty transparent.” Mal admitted.  
“So are you. The moment I thought about it, I was pretty sure that was your answer.”  
“I guess I’m an open book too?” Mal chuckled at that.

“I think Purrsia is the only place where you are open.” Mog hypothesized. “You have plenty to give. Not that it’s about giving at all. You’re you. That’s enough, Mal.”

“How so? What does being “me” mean and how is that enough?”  
“You pretend to be a hardass but you’re a softy. You give great advice. You’re kind. Generous.”  
“Huh. Really?” Mal smiled slightly.

“You’re not a burden to us. People’s worth can’t be measured just by their contributions.” Mog informed her. “And even if they could be, you contribute a lot more to our lives than you realize. Who would keep our books straight? Or make sure someone isn't ripping us off for a job? Who else would make sure we took a more scenic route sometimes just to see a neat star or moon?”

“I thought you hated my detours?” Mal jabbed.  
“Nah, I just like razzing you about them when I hear you bitch about us being low on cash.”  
“Ass.” She poked him in the ribs. He yelped, but offered a carefree smile.

“You’re also the one who makes sure we have the herbs and spices for Tom’s cooking or the green peppers in his famous bell peppers and beef. You grow the herbs that make teas that help us sleep or mellow out. You grow the plants needed for the spells you and Tom cast. Somehow if anyone but you touches the tomatoes on board, they die in like a week.”

Mal’s laugh was soft. “That’s true. Tab gave me some flowers from the ship when I finally woke up. It was sweet but kind of hilarious too.” She tittered with another laugh. “They were in such rough shape! It’s funny because I have a binder in the infirmary literally labelled ‘if my fighter ever goes down’ that lists everything you guys need to do in order to take care of all the plants on board. I made it as straightforward as possible and you all know where it is, you all know what it’s for and the darn things needed so much TLC from me when I got back.”

“Yeah, what can I say? We’re pretty hopeless with that stuff. That’s why you do it.” Mog laughed.  
“Quite. I hoped green thumbs were genetic but Catra barely kept you all from killing everything.”  
“I find it amusing that you couldn’t take care of yourself lately, but you were fine with the plants?”  
“Plants don’t bombard me with everything I hate about myself every waking hour.” Mal snarked.  
“Touche.” Mog laughed.

They shared a laugh together, perhaps the first one in months. They laughed until their ribs began to ache and Mal smiled as she leaned into him.

“I hope you’re seeing what I’m getting at.” Mog continued gently. “There’s still so much. You’re the one who patches up the Captain when they do stupid shit, or monitors that Old Man Tom’s keeping his sugars in check. You’re always giving me ideas on how to make better prosthetics and you’ll try my new leg designs, even though some of them have been a bad fit and hurt you enough that you couldn’t walk for a few days. You’ll get the Captain to stop being a mopey brat when they get in a mood or get everyone to chill when we’re at each other’s throats.”

“Honestly? I didn’t think what I did meant all that much.” Mal admitted bashfully.

“Well it does!” Mog insisted. “Yeah, you do have physical needs that we have to accommodate. Sure, because of them the rest of us are stuck doing all of the more physically intensive jobs on the ship, but you’re always doing a whole bunch of stuff that makes being on the ship way better. Stuff we can’t do, or do as well.”

Mal shifted her head so it rested against his chest. “Thanks Mog.”  
He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t mention it.”  
“I really appreciate you cheering me up.” Her eyes fluttered closed.

“Nah. I’m not doing it just to cheer you up.” Mog explained. “We all should have told you this more. That we appreciated you, that you contributed, just differently.” Mog hummed. “Someone like you? Who's deep in her own head?” Mog gestured with his free hand. “You’re really good at telling yourself all the things that you suck at. Maybe we need to remind you of what you’re good at?” Mog looked down at her and shook his head. “Aaand she’s asleep.” He smiled. “Oh well. Chances are you’re probably going to tell me to pretend you didn’t get this sappy on me later.”

Mog smiled and brushed her bangs from her face. Then he began flipping switches in the Clawdeen-Nu. It sputtered, and the dash lit up. Then he heard a tell tale crackle. The Radio.

His gaze lit up as he picked up the receiver and placed it close to his mouth.  
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.” He radioed. “Can anyone hear me?”

*

Percival seemed highly agitated. His tail flicked back and forth in wide sweeps. His claws remained out and ready to scratch anything in his way.

It was noticeable to Tallstar because...well because she was spending way too much time paying attention. But could anyone blame her? The Theran tom was a known assassin. In the employ of the Queen of Panthera. Who currently did not like Tallstar that much, or so she thought. After all, she did let the Purrsia stay on Anwat-Gar when she could have easily said “screw you, your trackers are dealt with, we're leaving”. Or kicked her off.

The Theran led them through the streets and Tallstar couldn’t help but look up. They saw the Nimitz fire on their own ships not too long ago, and now everything was quiet. Too quiet.

“Mr. Percival?” Starla called from beside Tallstar. “What do you think happened?”  
“The fighting stopped. That part should be obvious. It isn’t because we lost though.”

“Yeah,” Tallstar put her hands behind her head, “but there’s way too many to say we won and they surrendered.”

“That Nimitz class is an Eternian vessel. Not Pantheran.” Percival informed softly. “However, many of those Dreadnaughts come from Panthera.”

“So the Eternians turned on the Therans?” Starla guessed. A realization hit Tallstar then.

“Not the Therans.” Tallstar murmured. “Their Regent specifically. Chief Carnivus.” She followed up. Percival nodded slightly. “Why support a Chief when you can back a Queen?” She looked at the assassin and aide, “Not only that, THE Queen, whose claim to the throne is known to be far more legitimate and has the popular support?”

“If this is Randor’s doing...that has some awful sticky threads attached.” Percival frowned at that. “Her Majesty had to have known, so maybe she went to Adam. But these forces would have been Randor’s men so if they’re listening to Adam now that can only mean…”

Tallstar followed. “Adam went back.”

Percival hit his head with his hand. “This has so many problems attached to it that thinking about it hurts. Her Majesty wouldn’t have chosen this option if she didn’t think it was the best.”

“Or if she felt she had no other choice.” Tallstar could feel the stress radiating from the man and close aide of the Queen. “What do you think is going to be the fall out?”

“Randor doesn’t do any free favours. She had to agree to give something.” Percival shook his head. “Nevermind that. We can figure out those problems later. First things first, I need to track down that Theran. If they went Feral, we’ve got a situation that could get ugly. Quick.”

“Feral?” Starla echoed. Percival’s green eyes widened and he nodded.

“A Theran can usually transform between their two forms naturally, but those who spend very little time in their quadruped form can fall out of touch with it and they’ll need an anchor to help them transform, but more importantly, return.”

“More importantly?” Starla questioned the wording.

“We’re much faster, stronger, and armed with a hell of a lot more sharp fangs and claws in that form. If you’re in great danger, life threatening danger, transforming in response to that strong of an emotional trigger isn’t unheard of. It’s actually fairly common. The best way to save your own life is to be able to fight like hell or run fast after all.”

“Which is what you think happened with them?” Tallstar noted.  
“They did have a bullet in their chest.” Percival confirmed.

“So what is an anchor?” Starla followed up. “What does it do?”

“We’ve found in recent decades that a piece of the Twilight Topaz does wonderfully for helping someone change back and forth with little issue. Without something like that, you can get stuck. They’re like a ship without an anchor, floating in that second nature. They lose their minds, really, to that instinct.”

Starla looked frightened. “So they’ll attack anyone that seems threatening. Even remotely?”  
“Exactly.”  
“And they can’t control themselves?”  
“Unfortunately, no.”  
“Why would anyone ever do that then? Losing who you are seems just as bad as dying.”

Well,” Percival seemed uncomfortable, “It’s gotten a hell of a lot more common recently. There’s a lot of Horde Orphans and traumatized Therans in general. The trauma they underwent makes them more likely to transform in response to being in a situation they might interpret as life or death and the inability to regulate their emotions makes them more likely to get stuck.”

“So….” Starla sighed, “It’s kind of like Theran post-traumatic stress?”  
“For some I guess it is.” Percival agreed.

“I mean...Jewel and Tallstar can’t sleep through the night anymore. I get nightmares all the time now. Sometimes we all snap at each other over seemingly nothing.” Starla revealed. 

“That’s how we got separated in the first place.” Tallstar admitted quietly. “I blew up at Jewel over nothing. We both stormed off and left poor Starla alone. On Terras. One of the worst places to tempt fate like that.”

“It’s okay sis! I know it wasn’t really...you.” Starla hung her head. “Mr. Percival, what you described just sounds like what my siblings and I are going through, only more Theran specific.”

“Hmm. You may have a point there, small one.” Percival admitted. “Perhaps if we started looking at it from that point of view, some headway could be made.”

Tallstar paused in their walk, taking a moment to look at the destruction around them with lips pressed firmly. There was rubble. Smoke. Fire still. Crying and screaming. Through it all, Starla had shrank closer and closer to her elder sister until she was practically leaning into Tallstar and nearly fell over when the elder sister stopped but she didn’t.

“Sis?”  
“It’s going to take a long time for them to fix this.” Tallstar murmured.  
“It’s sad, isn’t it?”  
“But at least they have their lives.”  
“They’ve lost everything though!” Starla cried.  
“They can still move forward. Doesn’t fix what they lost but it’s better than the alternative.”

[Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! Can anyone hear me?] Came across Tallstar’s and Percival’s comms. The voice was distorted but they could hear it.

“An emergency?” Tallstar murmured. 

[Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! Is anyone there?] The signal cleared up and so did the words.  
Percival frowned, recognizing the voice. “We can hear you. What’s your emergency?”

[This is Clawfoot Zero-one-thirteen. We crash landed on the beach of Anwar Sea. Requesting immediate assistance. Medical needed. Over.]

“The Anwar Sea?” Tallstar turned around, facing the harbour. Further up she could see the mountains. “We’re not too far. Is that voice Mog’s?”

“Yes, and Clawfoot Zero-one-thirteen is the Clawdeen-Nu’s callsign. Her Majesty’s fighter.”  
“He’s with the Queen!?” Tallstar balked.

“Meaning ‘we’ is him and Her Majesty.” Percival squeezed his eyes shut. “No one can get a Feral Theran to heel easily. The best is another Theran. But….” he paused, “her Majesty.”

“Tallstar and I will go!” Starla volunteered, then looked to her sister. “Right Tallstar?”

Tallstar rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. We’ll help her out. Don’t worry about your Queen. I’ll be nice to her.”

Percival nodded. “Thank you! I am in your debt!” He bowed deeply and took off in the direction the Theran they found went. Tallstar and Starla looked at each other.

“Ready for a rescue mission?”  
“You betcha!”

*

“Well...this isn’t a sight I expected.” The Sorceress of Castle Greyskull stood tall from her seat on the observation deck. Her red hair was swept back from her face, her wings flexed as she rose, green eyes falling on Angella as she, Sunda, Aegean and Jewelstar entered.

“Hey Bird-lady. Your tenure on my boat is over. Time to move on.”  
The Sorceress tilted her head, then turned to Jewelstar curiously. “That’s fine by me.”  
“Preferably sooner than later.”  
“If I do, the boy comes with.” The Sorceress presented, her eyes falling back on Angella.  
Aegean shook his head. “No go. Juju stays here. He’s one of us now.”

“Besides Ms. Sorceress,” Jewel began to interject, “my sister is looking for me. This is where she knows I was last. If I leave now how is she going to find me?”

“That’s not my problem, boy.” The Sorceress shut down harshly, breaking her gaze from Angella. “Tallstar can take that matter up with Princess Kittrina at her own discretion.”

“Listen here you Eternian Brownnoser!” Aegean growled. “You may have Princess Kittrina in your back pocket but that doesn’t mean all Therans are at your beck and call like your servants!”

“Down, Aegean.” Sunda clasped her hands in front of her. “The Sorceress of Castle Grayskull, I presume?” It was more a statement than question.

“The eldest living princess of Panthera.” The Sorceress bowed her head. “It's a pleasure to meet the true Queen of Panthera. I see your sister has stolen that from you.” 

“You are quite mistaken.” Sunda shook her head. “I’m known as ‘Mad Sunda’ for a reason, unfortunately. Thankfully I’ve had a reprieve. I’d crack under the pressure for good if I ruled.”

The Sorceress lifted her head in confusion. “Then~”  
“De’va has my blessing. Always did. If anything, I forced the throne on her. She was unwilling.”

There was a long, palpable silence as the Sorceress’ eyes fell on Angella silently.

“You would let a woman who made a pact with a demon be your Queen?”  
Sunda smiled disarmingly. “Again, like so many others, you understand us Therans so little.”  
“I think I understand more than you about much bigger things.” The Sorceress protested.  
“Do you now? Are you aware that to call Grimalkin a demon isn’t the full story?”  
“The Grimalkin is Lynx.” The Sorceress scowled. “That’s the real problem at the heart of this.”  
“Yes. Our Goddess. Except, the beings we consider Gods are just people to you, aren’t they?”

The Sorceress gripped her staff with both hands and a faint glow emanated. Angella’s eyes caught sight of the threat and she stepped in front of Sunda, her own hands glowing.

“Stand down, Angella!” The Sorceress declared.  
“I refuse to let you hurt anyone here!”  
“Our people died with our realm. Let the same happen to our legacy!” The Sorceress pressed.  
“I am. I just don’t think lashing out at those who figured us out is the answer!”  
“We’re done, Angella. Mizar is done. We need to accept it. All of us who remain.”

Sunda hummed. “You’re a Mizar, aren't you Sorceress?” She turned to Angella. “Like Angella.”

Angella now had all eyes on her and she narrowed her eyes. “Teela-Na, stop this.”  
“I abandoned that name! Don’t you dare use it!” The Sorceress snarled.

“I had left Mizar before it fell. All I know is the realm is gone but I’ve never seen any survivors. Until now. I can tell something is...off with you.” Angella extinguished the beams in both of her hands. “What happened? To you? To everyone?”

“I don’t have a physical form anymore. What you see here is my host. She is one from a long line of women committed to Eternia who have made a pact with me. When the time comes, I will share the body of our daughter, Teela.” The Sorceress backed off, then sighed. “How do you still have a physical body after Mizar’s fall, Angella? That shouldn’t even be possible.”

“Maybe it was because I was in Brightmoon when the fall happened?” Angella asked.

“Etheria was in despondos until…” The Sorceress’ eyes widened. “You’re Angella of Brightmoon.” Her mouth pressed into a firm line. “It would seem I met your daughter.”

“Glimmer?” Angella rushed over to the Sorceress. “Glimmer is out here? Where is she? Who is she with? Was she okay when you saw her? Did she look like she was eating enough?”

The Sorceress rolled her eyes. “She got shot.”  
“WHAT!?”  
“I’m sure she’s better. I got shot with her and I’m fine.” The Sorceress dismissed.

“You just told me you don’t have a body! My daughter is half Etherian. Those things are VERY different!” Angella’s eye twitched, and then she held the bridge of her nose.

“I don’t believe she’s dead.” The Sorceress admitted. “I know the one who did the deed. They aren’t a terrible person by any stretch. They would have gotten her medical attention immediately.”

“You want me to believe the person who shot her isn’t a ‘bad’ person?” “

“It was a bit of a...complicated situation.” The Sorceress sighed. “Your daughter is with De’va D’Riluth.” Those green eyes flickered to Sunda and narrowed. “Now I see how this all came to be. You knew didn’t you? Where everything was about to converge. You conniving little minx.”

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t most familiar with how closely linked magic and madness can be. The most promising Oracles often aren’t the most stable people.” Sunda smirked.

“If that’s true, your ability to ‘see’ ahead is as strong as your sister’s then.”

“I’ll do you one better.” Sunda hummed, “noticed how some of De’va’s predictions became less accurate once Carnivus cut off all ability for me to contact the outside world?”

“Some of it was you then.” The Sorceress concluded. “That would mean you're even more powerful than she is, and your sister? She’s a very convincing little liar.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but cross referencing our respective visions was the least I could do for the burdens I foisted on her.” Sunda turned to Angella. “Rest assured, your daughter is well. She may have a few more scars but she is alive and strong. You will meet her again soon.”

Tension left Angella then and she looked to the two men in the room who glanced between the three of them. Jewelstar waved awkwardly and Aegean cleared his throat.

“Captain Aegean, set a course for Panthera, would you?” Sunda commanded sweetly.  
“Right away Your Highness!” He slapped Jewelstar’s back. “Come along Juju.”

With them now alone the Sorceress seemed a little less guarded. Angella was still tense though.

“I have an important question.” Sunda demanded their attention. “The reason you hold so much animosity towards my younger sister is because of Lynx, is it not?” Sunda tilted her head. “She’s really one of your kind originally, isn’t she?”

“She’s not looking for a host. She’s attempting to create a brand new body.” The Sorceress seemed cagey. “When that girl was foolish enough to make a deal with that...witch, she became a conduit. As magic flows through her, it flows to wherever Lynx is creating her new form.”

“Wherever?” Sunda questioned.

“I suspect it is a reality just out of reach of our own.”

Angella scowled. “If she has her own body, then her powers will be…”  
“Unrestricted. That’s exactly the reason she’s doing this.”

“So the Goddess is the very reason my sister’s magic has always been uncontrollably unstable? How interesting.” Sunda realized, humming. “But what does a soul grant Lady Lynx?”

“A way to stabilize and anchor the power she’s gathered, maybe?” The Sorceress shook her head, frustrated. “Why was your sister stupid enough to trade her soul anyways?”

Sunda’s eyes darkened. “It was your men who pushed her off that ledge. Figure it out yourself.”  
“Don’t your people believe in reincarnation?”  
Sunda’s scowl grew, her body tense. “What about it?”

“Given your beliefs, any other Theran would have had the common sense to just trade years of their life instead of their soul when faced with something you considered a demon. I guess vengeance meant that much to your sister?” The Sorceress’ nose wrinkled.

“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” Sunda laughed, but it was a disturbing one. “Don’t worry. You’ll get yours too.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
“You helped create the rage that you’re now trying so desperately to exterminate.”

“I was just following my orders! I was trying to stop Randor and the only way to do that is to have his ear just as much as Carnivus does! How else are we going to stop this madness?”

“In the process you left nothing else but a soul to trade.” Sunda grew very still, “and Lynx met a terrified girl and offered a deal too good to pass up!”

It hit the Sorceress then. Hard. Horror bloomed on her face. “No. Oh no. She was already…no.”  
“Yes.” Sunda sighed. “Carnivus is obviously number one, but you’re on that list too.”  
“With Lynx’s power she could very well do it. Kill me. Truly.” The Sorceress went very quiet.

“So of the Mizar…” Angella asked, softly interjecting, “is it really just you, Lynx and I left?”  
“Your daughter as well, technically, if you count half-Mizar.” The Sorceress nodded. “Yes.”

“And this De’va woman, Sunda, your sister,” Angella looked to the Princess “...has a pact with Lynx that will end with Teela-Na’s death?” Angella noted.

The Sorceress was pale. “Seems like.”  
“As for Lynx? What is she after? Do you know?”  
“She’s trying to restore the realm of Mizar. But it collapsed. It literally doesn’t exist now.”

Angella’s eyes widened. “She would have to recreate it. Here.”

“A lot of people will die if she does.” The Sorceress admitted, then gave Angella a sad smile, shaking her head. “I’m sorry Angella, but if all of this shakes out in the best way possible? Then you and your daughter will be the last of our kind.”

*

Adora wasn’t sure what to make of this scene. 

There were dozens of Theran soldiers, all awkwardly out of place. Mostly huddled amongst themselves. They flinched noticeably when they saw the Eternian soldiers with Adora and she couldn’t help but feel guilty, thankful when Catra stepped in.

“We’re here to help!” Catra declared. There was still a wariness among the men and women gathered until Kittrina pulled away from wherever she had been in the church and came out to meet them. Sensing the atmosphere, she directly intervened with a comment of her own on the matter to soothe the shaken soldiers.

“Princess Adora is a friend of Panthera. They can be trusted.” Kittrina declared. There was a little more ease when she delivered the message and Catra couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Yes, she understood Kittrina was the authority they knew and were acquainted with, but up until literally hours ago? She was working with the jerk who enslaved these poor people’s minds.

“Do you know where our Queen is?” Asked a soldier of Adora. The Blond looked uncomfortable.

“We’re working on it as we speak. Know that it’s a top priority to us.” Adora looked over to Kittrina who gave her a small nod. “For now, triage the injured. Get the most severe in healing pods, ASAP, and move the others as we are able to.”

With that, Adora and Catra exchanged a glance and saw Kittrina beckoning them to follow her deeper into the church. They stuck close together, trusting but not fully, wary of the potential to be ambushed or trapped. Kittrina seemed to notice but said nothing on the matter.

“Where’s Tab?” Adora asked.

“I couldn’t leave them unmonitored, but I was wary of Bow and Glimmer doing it alone. A feral Theran isn’t easy to handle.” Kittrina revealed, “Glimmer teleported them into the control room. It’s reinforced so even if they were to be destructive, the destruction would be...limited.”

“You caged them!?” Catra just about flipped. Kittrina winced.  
“For their own good.” Kittrina defended. “And ours.”  
“I find that hard to believe coming from you.”  
“Then look for yourself.”

They arrived at the doors. Glimmer and Bow saw the two of them and happily smiled tired, bruised smiles. Glimmer hugged Adora and Catra both. Bow followed. A loud bang was heard behind the two of them and they jumped, then looked at Adora and Catra.

“It’s....been like that for awhile.” Bow explained cheekily.

“Could be worse. They started attacking the injured soldiers. When that happened we realized we had to separate them from everyone else.” Glimmer detailed. She jumped at another loud bang and then a snarl. Catra looked at her worried gaze.

“I couldn’t even get close to them without them trying to bite my arm off.” Kittrina explained.  
“Same.” Glimmer added.

“It’s concerning because, especially with how they are now? They’re going to reopen the wounds we just closed. That can get dangerous.” Kittrina was wringing her tail anxiously.

“The only one they hadn’t tried to attack right away was me.” Bow explained. “I don’t know why, but it allowed me to use my net arrows to immobilize them long enough to let Glimmer teleport them away from the Theran soldiers.” Bow sighed. “We hoped they would still let me near them to look after those injuries but now they’re attacking me too.”

“Is there really no rhyme or reason to it?” Adora asked.

“No.” Catra realized. “There is. The soldiers were enemies. Glimmer inadvertently attacked Tab back on Terras. Kittrina has been at odds with Tab for ages. They had no problem with Bow… until he used his arrows to trap them. That’s a pattern.”

“Ah.” Kittrina sighed, agreeing. “Then it really is instinct. Anyone who’s shown them hostility in the past is just registering as a potential threat, and Bow facilitated our actions so...”

“Exactly.” Catra frowned. “Let me try.”

Bow, Glimmer and Kittrina exchanged glances. “That could work.” They voiced.

“Work to do what, exactly?” Adora asked.  
“Calm them down.” Catra answered matter of fact.  
“And then what? What happens from there?”

That led to a silence among them all. Kittrina bit the inside of her cheek, uncertain. Glimmer shrugged her shoulders then winced. Bow looked grim.

“This is...their life now. If they’re Feral, there’s no coming back.” Kittrina admitted in a small voice. “Just like how you can forever be stuck in your bipedal form, the reverse is true.”

“I don’t think that has to be the case.” Adora muttered. “There’s got to be something we can do.”  
“We’ll think of it later. Now? We should look after the injuries. Calm them down.”

“Then I’m coming with. I can heal them.” Adora concentrated and the sword materialized to her hand. “For the Honour of Greyskull!” In a flash of light, Adora had changed, her eyes aglow.

“Be careful guys.” Glimmer warned. Catra smiled at her.

“We’ll be fine.” Carefully Glimmer opened the door and Bow took another net arrow and fired, pinning the charging Theran back. It snarled and huffed and bucked and hissed and fought, exhausting itself. Adora and Catra stepped in, and the door was closed behind them.

Catra avoided direct eye contact, but could tell the Theran was staring at Adora, growing agitated at the sight of her.

“It’s just us Tab. It’s me, Catra.” She approached slowly, then paused, getting down on all fours and crawling beside the agitated Theran. She held out her hand, and the Theran stared at it before sniffing it. Then it licked it. Catra smiled. “See, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Tab, I’m just going to~” Adora started, but immediately the transformed Theran rushed to their feet, their pupils narrowing to slits. They hissed and growled and snarled in Adora’s direction. Catra stood up very slowly and went over to Adora. Then slowly she wrapped her arms around the blond. “Catra! What are you doing?”

“Shh, Adora.” Catra nuzzled against her. “Just trust me.” The Theran snarled and hissed for several long, agonizing moments and then upon realizing the interaction, stopped. “See. We’re here to help.” The Theran sniffed the two of them and then made a confused sound. “She’s with me, see? Adora’s good. She won’t hurt you.” Catra spoke soothingly. The Theran’s arched back relaxed, fur smoothed and they curled up, tail around them, making a strange sound. “You’re really badly hurt aren’t you? We’re worried about you. Let us help.”

The Theran sat, paws crossed, head sunk. Adora approached very slowly and planted the Sword of Protection in the ground. She concentrated her energy into her hands. Catra came up from beside her, letting go, and they both laid their hands gently on the growling Theran.

There was a brilliant glow that filled the room, and Adora and Catra suddenly found themselves in a strange space for a brief time. They looked at each other, confused as they looked about finding green rolling hills and bird song.

“What is this?” Adora asked. Catra shrugged but began walking when they heard a voice.

“Careful.” It was a whisper of a word, but both of them spun around to see Tab there. The white haired Theran looked battered and bruised, their expression guarded. They put a finger to their lips, then pointed behind them.

Adora and Catra slowly turned around. There before them, as if in flesh and blood, was Horde Prime. His green eyes watching them. He smirked. Catra’s breath caught in her throat. Fear made bile rise in her stomach. She forgot how to breathe.

“Prime sees all.” He said. “Prime knows all. Prime is all.”

“No!” Catra screamed. She lunged at him. Catra found herself going right through Horde Prime’s form, then screaming when Tab slashed into her back. Adora’s eyes widened as she saw Tab sporting the same smirk as Horde Prime, their eyes clouding over to the distinctive green. Tab began to snarl at them both. Catra stayed on the ground, coiled up, confused, while Adora concentrated her magic, and reached out to Tab.

Those eyes returned back to their teal colour. Tab looked alarmed.

“I’m sorry! Go! Now!” The bright light faded and they were back in the room. The transformed Tab was there, clear eyed. Catra was on the floor breathing hard. Adora rushed over, worried.

“I-I’m fine.” Catra promised shakily, then looked up to Tab. “How are you feeling?” Catra asked. A coo was what she got in return. Adora frowned.

“I don’t understand. If the injuries are the reason why….then how come…”  
“It’s Prime. It always was.” Catra’s shoulders fell. “We’ll figure it out. Let’s just find Mal.”

Someone knocked at the door. Tab hissed but Catra put a hand on their head. “It’s okay. The only people in this church now are here to help us.” Tab soothed and nuzzled Catra’s hand.

“I heard a scream.” Catra flushed at that when the speaker, Percival, came in, his green eyes judging the situation. He seemed tense. Then he relaxed. “I would ask if all was well, but I know better. What I will say is that Purrsia is coming. I sent a message to Forest. ETA is ten.”

“Who?” Adora blinked.

Percival flushed. “Tom. Sorry.” His eyes blinked. “I have some good news. We got an SOS from Mog and Her Majesty. Tallstar and Starla are headed there. I think they’re going to be okay.”

Catra sighed. “Yay. Finally some good news.”

*

Mog was lightly dozing. It was dumb, he knew, but he barely slept on the normal and now he was just bone tired. He opened his eye to find Mal staring out at the sea and the stars. She was shivering, rubbing a hand along her legs, and trying not to move them too much in effort not to disturb what she must have thought was him getting some much needed sleep. It was clear she was in a great deal of pain, but she smiled at him.

“Rest. You're clearly tired.”  
“You are too, y’know?”  
“Mmm, I can’t sleep, so feel free to take advantage of it for the both of us.”

Mog felt guilty but he allowed himself to rest again. In his dreams he saw it. That face. Green glowing eyes. All four of them. Staring. His smirk. That tube of green liquid he was stuck in. He woke up screaming. Mal was practically on top of him, shaking him awake. He breathed heavily, rubbing his aching scars along his stomach while Mal practically shivered on top of him.

“Shit.”  
“That bad, huh?” Mal’s voice sounded strangely rough.

“Did I...uh…” he looked at her for any indication of injury. In the low light, with her head bowed, he couldn’t get a good look at her.

“It’s fine.” Mal squeezed in beside him, holding her breath from the pain. She went back to looking at the stars and rubbed her neck. Mog clued in and his ears flattened.

“I’m so sorry.” Mog sounded ashamed.  
“It wasn’t you.” Mal dismissed, eyes fluttering closed. Her voice was hoarse.  
“Still...I know some of the things they would do to Lionesses in~”  
“It wasn’t you.” Mal echoed more firmly between grit teeth.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I know I’ve been really angry with you lately, but this wasn’t that, it’s~”

“Mog.” Mal cut him off again. “Don’t tell Tab I ever told you this but,” Mal pressed a hand to her mouth thoughtfully, “in some of their own nightmare fits they have done far worse to me.” He looked at her in shock. “I’m not ashamed of Tab’s struggles, but I respect their understandable… wariness in how others might perceive our relationship if that was widely known.” Mal explained. 

“You mean...with the age difference and when you guys met and such?”

“Freshly sprung from a Den, a teen Lioness is befriended by a soldier in their mid-twenties. This former Lioness becomes comfortable when the soldier is the only one who seems to understand her trauma. Also, she happens to be a princess while this soldier is a nobody. They start dating before she’s twenty.” Mal shook her head. “Some assume there was… an intent on Tab’s part that was never there. If they could add ‘abused’ to that narrative, they’d have a field day.”

“I can see why Tab is very wary.”

“Even when they are aware that I was the one who pursued Tab, people like Adam were still skeptical.”

“You,” Mog snorted. “pursued Tab? How?”

“Very awkwardly. I’ll tell you someday.” Mal laughed. “The thing is, I’ve done a number on them once or twice too. I’ve just come to accept this is the reality of broken people trying our best to make it work as we heal.” Mal sighed. “It’s why when you joined we actually didn’t share a room for a bit. It rarely happens now, but…” Mal paused, “Tab and I get it. If you ever need to talk…” 

He nodded, and then leaned into her shoulder. “Thanks.”

They stayed in a comfortable silence, only broken by the waves crashing on the sand just feet away. High tide had rolled in and with it, the water was so close they could almost touch it. Oddly enough, as he wrapped them both more tightly in the blankets, he was happy he didn’t bother trying to make shelter on shore. He noticed Mal’s eyes narrow.

“What’s wrong?”  
“Shh. Where’s the flare?” She suddenly whispered.

“Did you hear something?” Mog jostled her and watched her hold her breath as he went digging for them. He silently apologized. She shot him a glare, shushing him and he went silent. 

“Yes. Voices.” She finally replied, ears twitching. “About three kilometers out.” Mog went very still. He heard it. Calling. For them. “They probably can’t see us yet because of the trees.”

“On it!” Mog aimed the flare. “Close your eyes.” Mal did such and he pulled the trigger. There was a rush of air and the smell of ignition. When he looked up he saw the bright plume in the air.

It felt like seconds when Mog saw all of the people, Tallstar rushing towards them. He stood and waved his hands to flag them down further. Tallstar was with another young girl with golden, curly hair and bright eyes and she seemed relieved.

“Man! And here I thought you up and ditched us!” Mog hopped from the fighter, meeting Tallstar.

“Who’s going to do maintenance on my limbs after the rough day I put them through?” Tallstar asked in response. When Mog frowned, she smiled. “Only kidding. I did ditch you guys, honest, but...something told me to come back.”

“Aww, is the little info broker going soft on us?” Mog razzed, tugging at her hood. “How cute!”

“Hey, cut it Mog!” She yelled, fixing her hood. “It’s not like that!” Tallstar looked to Mal. “I’m just trying to show a bit of grace.” She locked eyes with Mal. “Just like I was shown a bit of grace.”

Mal scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
“Then we don’t have to talk about it.” Tallstar returned. “Just know that I’m thankful.”  
“Just treat my little niece well, will you?” Mal smirked.

“What!? Where the hell did that come from!?” Tallstar felt her cheeks burn as she coughed, looking away. Mog smiled, relieved, looking up into the sky.

“Well, Captain.” Mog declared. “Cheers to you, if you’re up there in the stars somewhere. We’re probably alive because of your quick wit.”

Tallstar suddenly was snapped back into reality. “There’s something you need to know.”

Mal looked at her in concern. “What is it?”  
“Tab’s alive.”

Mal placed both hands over her mouth when a strange sound slipped past her lips. Her eyes grew rhumy and then spilled over. Soon all they could hear was laughter mixed with joyful sobs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sunda got the quote of the chapter because she has the tendency to drop some mad wisdom. I blame her being an oracle.  
> I am not sorry for this pun :P
> 
> Yes, Kittrina introducing herself was a reference to Zuko from ATLA.
> 
> Expect some Catra and Kittrina moments where they try to sort each other out of their bad ways coming soon.
> 
> Of course Horde Prime's legacy was going to be touched upon a little more directly :). Same with the Mizar. I try not to have too many throw away comments (though I will admit to adding a few red herrings or two).
> 
> It has been hinted here and there, but here's official confirmation that Mal, Tab and Mog also suffer from various levels of C-/PTSD. They all seem to cope in different ways, and not cope in other ways. Mal at her best focuses on helping the crew run well, growing things (something which, I find if you struggle with thinking you're only capable of breaking things is helpful to grow or build things) and at her worst, well, we've seen that now. Mog, similarly to Mal focuses on his building, and at his worst he is suspicious of everyone and distrustful and quick to cut people out (hence his whole 'this person is nothing but trouble, get rid of them' schitik), and Tab is more of the type to bury it. They focus on Mal (to the point where it might actually be stifling to Mal) and the rest of the crew's well being and when they feel out of control they...drink. The fact that they are the one who gets stuck being Feral is no accident. It's a manifestation of the fact that Tab buries their issues rather than confronting them. Mal may be poor at handling her feelings but she's handling them. Tab just sort of closes their eyes and plugs their ears and it caught up to them.
> 
> How did Tab survive being shot in the heart? Catra brings that up, confused herself. There is a reason that isn't a cop out. Be aware of tiny details in previous chapters. :)
> 
> Speaking of details, there has been some set up for a couple of chapters I'm really excited for that has began with this chapter. I really loved the portal episode, and I'll be honest, I wanted to revisit some of the concepts from a very different angle with the character development here. I can't wait for you to read it!
> 
> Looking forward to hearing from you and I'll see you next chapter! Stay safe out there. 
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “All of them playing so happily makes me hope though,” the Sorceress admitted softly, “I hope Panthera and Eternia can look like those four in the future.”
> 
> “Me too.” Carnivus murmured almost too quietly to hear.


	33. “Is there anything in the Verse more binding than a contract with a God?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom finds that the worst part of being the team Dad is being worried sick about everyone. Percival tries his best to help.  
> Catra finds herself unable to ignore a deeply unsettling possibility thanks to Tab's current state. Adora reassures her.  
> Mog and Mal reunite with the others and Mal deeply regrets that she ended up getting exactly what she wished for.  
> Kittrina and Catra have a long needed heart to heart as they refuse to admit they both came looking for Mal.  
> Adora confronts Mal for some answers and finds herself staring down a difficult future decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man is this so much later than I wanted it to be. 2021 is turning out to be 2020 Part Two Electric Bogaloo. I am hanging in there though and I hope you all are too.
> 
> I'm actually surprised because I just realized there's quite a few likes on this (139 as of writing this note O_O) and quite a few hits (5000! Wow!) Which means people are reading! I appreciate you all and hope you're enjoying this ride.
> 
> Well, we're off to another chapter and as always I appreciate your likes and reviews!

Twenty years ago…

There was something about children’s laughter now that left his heart raw. He heard it from further in the corridors, and picked out the distinct voices with a fondness and an ache. An emptiness that he was still struggling to deal with, opened and torn and opened again.

“You’re gonna have to run faster if you wanna beat me Teela!” Carnivus found his green eyes following the speeding trail of a redheaded Theran girl, her coppery hair glinting in the bright lights as she sped past him holding something pink and fluffy in hand. He spotted her golden eyes, so much like her mother’s, narrowed mischievously. “Hi Uncle!”

“Hello Kalico.” And she was gone just as quickly as she went.

“Kal! Slow down!” Teela called out, paces behind her. An Eternian girl with reddish brown hair and green eyes. “Your Mom said we couldn’t run too much if De’va’s playing with us!” Teela scolded, then she growled and squeezed her eyes shut as she sprinted ahead. “Kal!”

“It’s not my fault Day’s slow!” Kal shot back.

“I’m not slow!” De’va had come from the rear, but she was breathless, pale, ashen. Carnivus felt a gripping worry hit him as she doubled over, hands on her knees, heaving for air. “I….I was waiting for Adam!” She protested. “He’s still little! He can’t keep up with us!” De’va stood up but she wobbled, and Adam went up to her and steadied her.

“I’m not that little. You’re the one who’s little!” He pouted. “I’m almost as big as you!” De’va rolled her eyes and swatted him with her tail. “You’re welcome!” He called back after her. Carnivus could only chuckle.

“De’va!” His youngest niece froze, like she had been caught swiping an extra treat after dinner. Her ears flattened to the side of her head. Her tail dropped between her legs and he couldn’t help but smile. He looked at her, saw the colour already returning to her face, saved the newly constant white markings on her cheeks and forehead and decided to cut her a break. “Take it a little slower, okay?”

“Okay Uncle.” De’va grumbled. Adam stuck his tongue out at her and rushed ahead and De’va looked dour as she watched him go.

“You can keep playing,” Carnivus told her, “just go slow, okay?”  
De’va’s ears stood upright. “But Mommy said~”  
“Are you feeling ill right now?”  
“Nuh-uh!” De’va shook her head, one of her ears twitched. “Just a little dizzy.”  
“Then if you can take it easy, you can keep playing. No running for now, okay?”  
De’va grinned at him. “Thanks Uncle!” And speedily walked away in chase.

“She’s growing up quickly. Three years ago she was the same size as Prince Adam.” Carnivus hummed when he turned to see the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull looking at the children.

“She’s the runt of the litter, a very ill litter. She’s got to make up for lost time.”  
“Being smaller is probably what helped her live this long though, isn’t it?” She asked.  
“I’m glad you’re asking me this and not C’yra.” Carnivus rolled his eyes.  
“Sorry, that was blunt and insensitive, wasn’t it? Still, begs the question…”  
“That’s what our doctors think. Her littermates’ hearts just couldn’t keep up.”

“Yet she’s holding on.” The Sorceress sighed, looking at the children. “Those markings she’s got? Those are new since I saw her last.”

“We put them on our sick children when we think they might die. It’s a ward asking the Goddess for her Divine Grace. Normally they fade but hers never did. It’s odd.” He admitted. “The Cait Sith believe this is a sign that she has been chosen by the Goddess,” Carnivus snorted, “but I think it’s nonsense putting that kind of expectation on a kid not even ten yet.”

“How odd. They’re runes, right?” The Sorceress asked.

“Representing Lynx, our Goddess. They say those symbols mean something different in her language.” Carnivus turned to find the Sorceress pensive, a hand to her chin. “What?”

“They do mean something different.”  
“Do you know what it is?”  
The Sorceress smiled disarmingly. “Sorry, can’t help.”  
“Too bad.”

They watched the four children run down the halls in the other direction, laughing and giggling away. De’va was lagging behind again, wheezing, unable to will herself faster.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you last. You even have a full beard now!”  
“You noticed.” He grinned. “It’s finally not patchy. Felix was happy I grew it out.” The smile fell.  
“Hearing his name in the past tense feels wrong.” The sorceress admitted solemnly. “I’m sorry.”  
“His birthday just passed.” Carnivus spoke very quietly. “He would have been a teenager.”  
“That must hurt.” She sighed. “I heard the evidence was circumstantial but did you get him?”  
“One child’s life is not worth an entire Kingdom’s stability…” it stung to say that.   
“So it’s someone who…” The Sorceress put it together. “Ah. Tricky. Your call or your sister’s?”

There was a long pause. One that stretched so uncomfortably that the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull looked ready to retract the question, to tell him not to answer if he didn’t want to. Carnivus’ eyes narrowed -- not out of anger but to keep them from tearing up.

“Mine. Reluctantly.” The words sounded as hollow as they were, but whether the Sorceress believed him or not, it was clear by the firm set of her mouth that she wasn’t about to call him out on it. Some wounds weren’t worth picking the scabs of. Especially ones this fresh and deep. Carnivus returned to watching the children. “Doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

“You must feel he ought to be running with them, don’t you?”  
“Leading his little cousins...” He sighed. “I at least still have my nieces and nephews.”  
“I also hear you and your sister aren’t seeing eye to eye.”

Now he was scowling. It seems the Sorceress put it together, but he wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of admitting it out loud. “Look. I know I take the L on whether my suggestion is moral, but the thing is when you are the Monarch, what your needs are second to the Kingdom.”

“What you’re suggesting though is practically selling off your nieces.” The Sorceress crossed her arms. “The idea of that is considered a bit barbaric in Eternia.”

“I figured with how Sis and Randor shut me down hard.” Carnivus shook his head, “doesn’t Eternia do political marriages though?”

“They do,” The Sorceress softened, “but a marriage contract?”

“Panthera is very unstable right now. The more time we spend fighting each other for what little piece of power we think we should have, the more the chaos harms our people. She doesn’t get it. If we don’t extend an olive branch to make everyone think they have something already invested in her vision, then they’re just going to fight over the scraps. Everyone loses that way.”

“A tough spot to be in,” the Sorceress acknowledged, “and a tough thing for a mother to hear.”

“She told me I couldn’t possibly understand because I’m not a parent anymore.” Carnivus responded hushed. “And that even if Felix was still alive, it’s different,” his voice cracked on those words, “because he was a tom.” 

“That was a low blow. Especially considering she’s the one who...”   
“Who what?” Carnivus dared her to say it.  
“Nevermind.” The Sorceress looked appalled. “If you’d like, I could speak to her?”

He took a breath. “No. It’s fine.” He replied shakily, turning to look up and down the corridor for the children. “She made it clear. Her children are too good to be sacrificed. She’s the Queen. I’m just the spare.” The Sorceress seemed to catch the unsaid and let it go.

“All of them playing so happily makes me hope though,” the Sorceress admitted softly, “I hope Panthera and Eternia can look like those four in the future.”

“Me too.” Carnivus murmured almost too quietly to hear.

Sobbing. His ears flicked at the sound of it. The Sorceress looked concerned when she heard it too. Carnivus rushed over to find the four. Teela was on top of Kal wrestling her. Adam was telling the two to stop fighting and De’va was sitting on the floor, crying.

“Kids!”

Teela jumped off of Kal as though she had been burnt and Kal got up, looking sulky as she hid something behind her back.

“Kal took De’va’s lion!” Teela tattled.  
“I was going to give it back!” Kal argued. “When she caught up!”  
“You know she can’t run like we do Kal!”  
“Well that’s not my fault!”

“Kal.” Carnivus called out his elder niece. She stared at the ground and gave him the little pink lion toy. “What do we say?”

Kal groaned. “Sorry De’va.”  
“It’s okay.” De’va hiccuped.

“You three go ahead.” He told them. He watched them sprint and sighed at their conversation.

“Why do you always do that!?” Teela scolded again.  
“Because Mommy likes her more!”  
“That’s not true! She’s just sick all the time!”  
“Yeah! And she gets all the attention all the time! It’s not fair!”

Carnivus looked over to the Sorceress who seemed displeased. “Do you want to handle that one, or should I?” She asked.

“Give me a moment with De’va here. Let Kal know I want to speak to her later.” The Sorceress nodded and left him and the young girl alone. She sniffled and looked up at him. He handed her back the lion and she held it tight to her chest. Then he sat beside her and patted his lap.

“Uncle, you’re silly.” She told him.  
“Why do you say that?”

“Mommy says I’m getting too big to sit there.” De’va told him, but she crawled into his lap and snuggled into him anyways. 

“You are, so that’s why I want to enjoy the last few times I can do that.” He ran a hand through her hair, “you feeling alright?” She nodded. “Do you want to talk about it? About what you just heard your sister say?” She shook her head and he sighed. “Okay then.”

A pause and then...

“Do Kal and her littermates hate me?”

“No, they don’t. They just don’t understand that when a parent has a child who isn’t doing very well, sometimes she needs to spend a little more time with them than their siblings.”

Another pause.

“Do you hate me, Uncle?” That seemed to come from out of left field, and when he looked at the girl questioningly she added. “Ever since Felix died you’ve been avoiding me.”

Carnivus felt his heart ache again. Of course he avoided her. Not intentionally, but to see the girl that his son would have grown up to marry was difficult. He wasn’t sure what to feel about it.

“My Sweet De’va, of course not.” He hugged her tight. “I’m sorry I made you feel that way. Losing Felix was hard. So hard. I love you, De’va. Very much. As much as your mother does.”

“I love you too Uncle.” De’va told him back. “If I can’t marry Felix, can I marry you instead?”

*

“Kids...say the darndest things.” Carnivus chuckled to himself as he leaned against the wall in the alleyway. Everything hurt. Everything ached. Still, with nightfall, he would hopefully be able to move around easier. Maybe if he transformed he could get to a new city by sunrise and do the same until he was safe enough to leave.

“Felix...what would you think of your poor old Dad now?” He chuckled, stumbling through the alleyway to some back paths. Underground was best. If he could get into the aqueducts or something, that would be the safer way to travel. He tried to sniff out stagnant water, hoping, praying. Something had to work out, right?

“C’yra…” He didn’t know why he was thinking of the past now, it was pointless. “What would have happened if you had just listened to me? Picked me over Randor? Didn’t let your infatuation blind you? The Eternians don’t really see us as people. We’re just exotic pets.”

He struggled as he pushed about. The city was in chaos. If he was going to slip away, it had to be now, while their attention was on the wounded and the civilians. He found a grated channel and jumped into it, wrapped his hands around the bars and yanked it free. 

It didn’t smell pleasant, but it wasn’t unpleasant either. It wasn’t the best for his wounds, but at the very least it would mask his smell, make it harder to track him whenever they finally decided that would be a priority.

“May you guide me well, Goddess Lynx.”

*

Forest “Tom” Maine was many things.

A damn good chef. Strong enough to snap a man’s neck with little effort. A handyman who knew his way around engines and weapons, and a tom who had lost too much. Just when he had convinced himself that he was beyond a point of being as deeply bothered by loss, he found himself faced with it again. Not sure what to make of the thought that at any time he could have a saddening confirmation that the Cymric Cooperative was officially no more.

“Forest,” Percival eyed him from the other end of the kitchen. He seemed exasperated, “have you gotten any sleep? Like? At all?”

“Not a wink, Percy.” Tom strained his newest cooking project in the last five hours. Yet another stock. He moved about the kitchen with a practice ease, noticing the disgruntled manor of the other Theran with him. “Have all the evacuees we have on board eaten yet?”

Percival huffed. “And have had seconds and some even thirds.” The theran groused, clearly annoyed by Tom’s stubbornness. “So has your crew. You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m sure some of the Theran soldiers Adora brought with her will still eat.”

“Goddess, you’ve already made enough food to feed a small army and then some. Sit down. Better yet, lie down you damned moron!” Percival walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, then squeezed. His claws bit into Tom’s skin in warning but there was no pain. “Her Majesty is going to need you, but you won’t be able to help anyone if you’re dead on your feet.”

“They’re going to be hungry when they get back. Mog at least. He’ll be hungry enough to eat a horse. Mal…” Tom paused, “if I have something that’s easy on her stomach maybe she’ll eat? She’s lost a lot of weight lately. She’s going to be worried sick when she sees Tab.”

“Forest, you’re worrying me now.” Percival let his hand trail down Tom’s back, gentle, pleading. It stopped at the small of Tom’s back. Percival leaned forward to catch Tom’s grey eyes. “Look at me.” Tom did. “You’ve done everything you possibly can do for now. Leave the rest of it to fate and those of us who can continue on from here. Trust us and trust them.”

“But~”

“Take a walk. Try to get it out of your system.” Percival spoke soothingly, “today was a hard battle and many people got hurt. You are understandably spooked. Your nerves are shot. Take a breath, try to rest. Tomorrow will be a new start.”

Tom didn’t notice until then how much his shoulders had hiked towards his ears, how tensely his tail flicked with agitation. He inhaled sharply, and then exhaled, closing his eyes, holding onto the edges of the stove to steady himself. “I think I’m going to go check on Tab.”

“That’s a good start.” Percival encouraged with a slight smile, then leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “I’ll make sure to take over here for a little while. Chicken and rice?”

“Yeah.” His hand slipped into Percival’s as he pulled away. “Thank you.”  
“Any time.”

Tom stuffed his hands in his pockets. His shoulders rounded as he walked down the catwalk. That’s when he heard voices by the infirmary. Catra’s was the loudest and caught his ears first.

“What the hell were you thinking!?” She was yelling.

“It’s clear something went wrong with Brother-sister Tab’s protocol. Something that Horde Prime caused, though it is unclear if it is directly or indirectly. That’s why they’re stuck in that form, is it not?” It was the Horde clone. Wordak. Tom frowned at what he overheard, staying in the shadows as he listened in. “I was only trying to jack in so I could see the issue and rectify it.”

“You got damn lucky this time! Next time Tab is going to kill you.”  
“But if I don’t try again, this error in their protocol will mean they are permanently stuck~”

“Don’t go near them again!” Catra warned, storming out of the infirmary and slamming the door behind her with a loud thud. She then paused, eyes closed as she exhaled shakily.

“Things are going that good huh?” Tom asked after approaching Catra silently.  
“AAH! Tom! Stop freaking doing that!”  
“Oh.” Tom smiled. “Sorry kid.”

Catra waved him off. “It’s fine. I forget that you might be as big as a house but you move quieter than a mouse. It’s a weird juxtaposition.”

“Our master thought so too.” Tom fell into step with her.  
“You mentioned that before. What did he train you in again?”

“Being an assassin, essentially. We’re aids to the throne, Percy and I.”  
“Was that how the two of you met?” Catra asked.  
“Err, no, actually. Bit of a funny story about that.”   
Catra crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow begging the question. “Well?”

Tom flushed. “I was married before I married Percy. Stupid young.”  
“Really?”

“Yeah, I was having a hard and messy time figuring myself out and I knocked some poor girl up and felt obliged to marry her for our two kids.” Tom shrugged, “except toms like me? We’re not really accepted -- with how devastated our people were, unions that don’t give children are seen as...immature and irresponsible.” He shrugged. “So I thought marrying the mother of my kids gave me a pastiche of maturity.”

Catra frowned, her eyes darkening. “Is it still that bad now?”

“Nah.” Tom explained. “It got a hell of a lot better by the time Mal was a kid. Prince Devon, your Uncle and the crown Prince? He was open about his attractions and the Queen didn’t bat an eye when he announced it publically -- rumour has it she loved queens as much as toms, just like her son, but did so privately. So that seemed to ease perceptions, but when I was a teen -- the only way to meet other toms like me were in, well, bars. I kept noticing this one silver haired Theran with green eyes. We hooked up many,” smirking, Tom laughed, “many times.”

“Percival?” Tom nodded. Catra snorted. “And then?”

“One day, during a public address at the Festival of the Goddess, the Queen was in my town specifically with her guards. I noticed one of the Royal Guards had a similar build and look, and something about him seemed familiar. He was awkward around me when it was my turn to bow to the Queen and kiss her hand and I got close enough to tell it was him. He panicked when we met next.” Tom shrugged. “Then my wife found out I was having an affair -- though she thought it wasn’t with a tom for a while. The whole thing with Prince Devon hadn’t happened yet, it was a bit of a mess to navigate.” Tom shrugged it off.

“What happened?”  
“We divorced, the custody battle got ugly.”  
“And your kids?” Catra asked.

“To make a long story short, I borrowed tons of money. It landed me with huge debt to an Eternian loan shark.” Tom continued and Catra had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to answer her question. “Got thrown in the Dens to pay it off, Percival caught wind and convinced his master to buy me. The trade off was for me to be a pupil. Think of people such as Percy and I as the King or Queen’s Guard. The Throne’s hidden hand.”

“How did you meet Mal then?” Catra paused wincing, “other than the obvious.”

“I was a fully bonafide retainer right when Prince Devon had begun searching for Her Majesty. Prince Devon had me infiltrate Terras’ Dens since I was there before and knew the workings of the scene. I was charged with gathering intel on a Theran teen with odd eyes and the markings of the Goddess.”

“Ah, so you were a part of how she got out.”  
“Technically. Tab and the Prince did most of the busy work. I just gave them directions.”

There it was. That name. They both seemed to pause on it collectively. Catra looked at Tom for a long silent moment before she gestured for him to follow her and he did. Down the next steps into the loading bay, and off into that small room they often used as a holding cell.

The growling and thuds was enough to tell him what to prepare for. 

“Tab?” Catra called out at the door. Tom had noticed the recent reinforcements put on the locks and he felt both amused and horrified that it was there. “It’s just me. With Tom. It’s okay.”

“I got them Catra!” Adora called from the other side. Catra nodded and unlocked the multitude of locks on the metal door before swinging it close. Adora looked haggard, bruised. She was giving a grim smile as she stood in a corner of the room. Tom took a glance at the growling Tab.

“You’re not using any restraints.” He stated.

Adora and Catra looked at each other. Then Catra spoke.  
“We thought that was the best. Feeling trapped doesn’t help anyone calm down.”

Adora scratched her head. “Unfortunately we have to keep them in this room because...well, we can’t get everything I guess.”

“Tab is currently a danger to everybody else.” Tom concluded. “If anything sets them off, they could go rampaging and a lot of people could get hurt.”

“Pretty much.” Catra confirmed.

Tom sighed and went up to the growling theran and held out his hand. Tab sniffed him curiously before they began to nuzzle and push against Tom’s hand, purring. Tom smiled at that, then looked at what he realized were two very exhausted young women.

“How about you two tag out for a little while?” He offered. “I can keep Tab calm over here for a little while.”

“You look as dead as we do.” Catra pointed out. Tom chuckled.   
“I’ve done worse stints. Go. Even for a couple of hours. It’ll do you a world of good.”

Adora nodded and headed for the door first, then paused. “Tom?”  
“Hmm?”  
“Thank you.”  
“Anytime. There’s soup in the kitchen too if you’re hungry.”

He watched them leave and he sat on the floor beside Tab who curled around him.

“You know you’re safe right?” Tom urged. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Tab purred. Tom smiled.

*

“Everything has fallen apart.” Catra wasn’t sure why those were the first words she could think to say when they finally got back to their room, but Adora looked at her worriedly.

“It’s been a hard couple of days for us, for everyone. It’s okay.” Adora tried to reassure Catra valiantly, “Things are coming back together. Slowly.”

“What if Tab never comes back?” Catra asked softly. Adora looked at her.  
“We don’t know for sure if that’s the case.”  
“But what if it is? Then what? Do we just go back to Eternia? That’s that?”

Adora sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. She noticed Catra flinch as she watched the gesture and frowned, thinking deeply. “We’re a part of the larger Verse now, Catra. We can’t pretend Eternia is the be all and end all like we used to believe before.”

“I guess you’re right.” Catra began poking around a few articles of clothing and Adora watched her out of the corner of her eye.

“Are you...scared?” Adora asked ever so softly. She glanced behind her and saw Catra’s ears flick, then droop.

“Me? Scared?” Catra gave a forced laugh. “I’m not scared of anything! Why would I be scared?”

“Catra…” Adora walked over to her and noticed Catra freeze. Catra placed a hand to the back of her neck rubbing her fingers into the muscles around the chip on her neck with a deep scowl etched firmly on her lips. “What is it?”

“I can’t control it either. Not completely.”  
“Can’t control what?”  
“My transformations.”  
Adora felt like she had the missing piece. “You’re scared of transforming?”

“What if I get stuck too? And in my mind there’s another Horde Prime, just like with Tab?” Her voice trembled with fear. “What if I have to be stuck there inside my own head with that monster as my only company and no one will be able to help me get rid of him and I’ll have to spend the rest of my life being tormented by everything he ever did and~” Adora grabbed her into a crushing hug and squeezed her close. Catra took quick sharp breaths that then turned into shivering and tears. Adora closed her eyes and kept holding Catra for however long it took for her to calm down, to soothe frayed nerves.

“I won’t let that happen to you.”  
“But you can’t stop it! You didn’t figure it out with Tab!”

“I’ll figure it out for you! I promise!” Adora pulled away but held Catra by the shoulders. Catra sniffled and looked into her blue eyes. “I promise.” She echoed. “There has to be a way.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so.” Adora’s gaze was firm. “Mal might be able to give us an idea. Didn’t she take you to that weird...Not-Really-Frightzone place?”

“She did.”  
“Maybe that might have an answer.” Adora proposed. 

“I hope so.” Catra held onto Adora tightly, burying her face into the blond’s neck and taking deep breaths as she calmed down. Adora rubbed circles on her back.

“Do you know what makes me feel really bad about all of this?” Catra asked softly.  
“Mmm? What’s that?” Adora sounded sleepy.

“Knowing those two had been on the outs before all of this. I bet you there were tons of things Tab wanted to say to Mal and now they can’t.” Catra sighed heavily. 

“There are probably tons of things Mal wanted to say to Tab too.” Adora added. “I bet you when she finds out she’s going to feel terrible about everything.” Adora sighed and held Catra tightly.

Catra inhaled shakily. “Adora...if it does happen to me too…”  
“It’s not going to.” Adora insisted.

“There is something that I want to tell you.” Catra felt Adora stiffen in their tight embrace. “No, it’s something I need to tell you.” Adora went rigid as a board. “Adora…?

“I’ll do whatever I have to in order to protect you. I mean it Catra!”  
“But in case you can’t~”  
“I will! Okay? I’m not going to mess this up a second time.” Adora insisted.  
“Why?” Catra demanded.  
“Because,” Adora floundered, “because you’re important. You’re my best friend you’re~”

“Don’t you get it!” Catra cut in, “I love you. I always have.” Adora pulled away and Catra could feel her heart sink. Of course. Stupid her thinking Adora felt the same way. They were just best friends. That’s all it ever was and there was no point in pushing it further than that. Catra was about to shove Adora away when she felt Adora’s hand on her cheek. She met the blond’s eyes and found confusion there.

Great. Just great.

“You...love me?” Adora echoed. That caught Catra off guard.   
“You’re such an idiot.” She giggled.  
“I love you too.” Adora immediately responded.

They stared at each other uncertain at first until Adora leaned in. Then Catra leaned in and her eyes fluttered close and Adora’s lips pressed against each other gently at first. Then more needy in time. They pulled away, breathless, foreheads touching gently, eyes closed.

“You just wanted me to say it first, didn’t you?” Catra teased. “Jerk.”  
“That totally wasn’t it! I just didn’t know!”  
“You’re so oblivious.” Catra murmured.  
“Am not!” Adora playfully shoved her.

“Everyone else on the ship knew. Heck, you weren’t even here on the ship yet and Tab and Mal knew how I felt about you. How come literally everyone but you figured this out?” 

Adora’s expression grew a touch somber. “I don’t know. Maybe all this time I didn’t think that I could really ever have...something like this. Ever. Nevermind with you.”

Catra grabbed her hand and placed it over her heart. “Well. You do. If you want it.”  
“But what about~” Adora began.

“It doesn’t matter.” Catra admitted softly. “You’re always worrying about what everyone else’s needs and wants that you forget about you. You’ll take care of everyone at your own expense. For once in your life Adora, think about yourself.”

“Okay.” Adora agreed, then leaned in, capturing Catra’s lips again. Then those kisses fluttered to Catra’s jaw. “I want this. Us. You.”

Catra gave her a gentle smile. “You can have them.”  
“And I want to sleep…” Adora broke away, grinning, “because I’m really tired.”

Catra laughed and jokingly shoved her towards the bed. “Good night, you dummy!”

*

Tom could hear the engine sounds change.

Not in a bad way, but more in a way that suggested a change in function. From propelling and keeping them in the air to easing them into landing. He blinked, his grey eyes open and looked at the curled up, giant feline beside him and smiled. He found a blanket and put it over Tab’s curled form before easing himself up off the ground.

Unsurprisingly, Tab opened up a single blue eye in question.

“We’re landing.” He whispered. “That means we must have found Mog and Mal. Go back to rest. She’ll come and see you soon.” Tab made a small sound and Tom gave them a sad smile. “I’ll be sure to let her know you’re waiting.”

The Purrsia touched down with a little rougher touch than Tom would have liked: it was to be expected when neither him nor Tab were at the controls. Silver Storm was great but an AI could only do too much and while Wordak showed a lot of promise, a Horde Ship was very different from an old converted fishing vessel like the Purrsia.

Catra appeared from the crew quarters rubbing her face and yawning. Adora was behind her, a hand in Catra’s. Tom smiled knowingly while Glimmer and Bow headed for the cargo doors. He noticed the two of them ambled awkwardly. Bow had bandages around his ribs which Tom caught glimpses of from his crop top whenever he raised his arms even slightly, and Glimmer’s shoulder was heavily bandaged and in a sling. They both looked sheepish, but wide awake and focus on the task at hand: retrieving the last of their comrades.

“What took us so long?” Tom asked out of curiosity.

“We had to wait for high tide to pass.” Bow informed, “that’s what Entrapta was saying. In order to have enough space on the beach to land it had to be low tide.”

It was daytime again, and Tom squinted at the sun as he saw the wreckage of the two fighters. Before anyone could say anything he sprinted out on the sand.

“MOG!” He screamed, “MAL!” He saw Mog stand up from the shore, near the trees and he scratched his ear, then waved his arm. “Mog!” Tom ran at him full tilt and as he got closer, the younger Theran realized Tom wasn’t about to slow down and began panicking. Tom tackled him hard, scooping him into his arms and squeezing him hard.

“Hah! Ow! Nice to see you too old man!”  
“Don’t ever scare the shit out of me like that again!” Tom was practically yelling against his ear.

“Yeah! Yeah! I don’t plan on making this an ongoing habit, Pops! Trust me!” Mog snorted as he rubbed his ears. “No need to blow my eardrums, yeesh!”

“I got no sleep because of you two!”

“At least tell me you made us a hot meal?” Mog grinned. Tom put Mog down and he laughed hard at that. “What, did I speak too soon?”

“I made some of your favourites.”  
“Aw, Tom! If you were like twenty years younger I’d go for you in a heartbeat!”  
“I’m happily married, but I’m flattered.” Tom messed Mog’s hair up.  
“Percy would have to watch out if I were into older toms. I can be quite seducing!” Mog winked.  
“Suave and you don’t belong in the same sentence. I’m not sure you noticed, but we have.”  
“Hey!”  
“It is a part of your adorable charm though, I suppose.”  
“That’s what they call a backhanded compliment, jerk.” Mog smiled, no sting behind the retort.

Tom felt relief spreading, but then froze. “Where’s...Mal?”

“Right here. Listening to the racket the two of you are making and wondering if I would live a much happier life being too deaf to hear it.” Mal informed gruffly. Tom looked up to the cockpit of the Clawdeen-Nu and spotted her looking weary, but awake.

“You really know how to make someone feel good about themselves, don’t you?” Tom laughed.

“It’s a skill.” Mal chuckled lowly. He carefully climbed up to the pilot’s chair to look at her dishevelled form. “Hey old man.”

“You gave us one hell of a scare.” He told her softly. Her smile was equally as gentle as his voice was. “I take it the fact that they didn’t move you is because you’re hurt?”

“Sort of. It was hell in the sky and my legs decided they didn’t want to work anymore.”  
“Shit timing.” Tom winced.  
“My flying days are done for, Forest.” Mal’s smile grew watery. “At least solo, anyways.”

“Yes well,” he leaned forward and wiped her tears, “at least you’re alive, and I’d give you my copilot chair anytime you want to feel the high of the sky’s freedom.”

“At least there’s that.” Mal agreed. “Thanks old man. Now promise me you’ll get some fucking sleep when we get home. Lynx knows you haven’t slept since you found out we were missing.”

“Will do.” Tom grinned. “Percival’s going to be pissed that I listened to you but not him.”

“Just tell him I used my ‘Queenly Authority’ or something like that on you. It’ll get him to stop nagging you pretty quick.” Tom grabbed her hand and squeeze it tightly. She squeezed back.

“Tab still hasn’t changed back.” Tom informed her. “I thought you should know what to expect.”  
“Mmm.” Mal’s eyes fluttered close. “That’s okay. I promised. In sickness and health.”  
“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be.” Mal frowned. “I used to wish so badly that I could do something that proved to me that I was playing the role of wife adequately enough and being useful to Tab and now look where we are?” She laughed despite herself. “Careful what you wish for, I guess.”

“Kittrina’s okay. She’s been helping that other young one, Saz? Kittrina seems...wary.”  
“Give her time.” Mal countered. “She’ll warm up. She was attacking us once, so...”  
“Carnivus still hasn’t been found though.” That got Mal sighing.  
“Well...it is what it is at this point. We’ll just have to figure it out.”

“Sorry guys! Don’t mean to interrupt the reunion!” Glimmer walked over to them. “We should get on board soon. We want to move the Clawdeen-Nu but…”

“I can’t get out right now.” Mal revealed. Glimmer frowned and turned to Adora.

“Let me try.” Adora declared. Tom nodded, disembarking from his place just as Adora had uttered the words “For the Honour of Greyskull.” Then, She-Ra found herself sitting across from Mal. She laid her sword aside and reached out placing her hands gently on Mal’s shoulders.

Both of them were enveloped in that soft white light and Tom watched in marvel until it grew blinding. When it faded, Adora slumped over. Mal caught her.

“Easy there.” Mal dipped her head to catch Adora’s gaze. “You’re gonna be okay?”

“I might have done that too many times in one day.” She breathed. Mal looked a lot better for wear. She reached out to Adora and got pulled to her shaky legs, but she was standing. Adora and Mal stared at each other for a long time.

“Mal…” Adora’s brow furrowed, “the last time I healed you, and this time too…”  
“What is it…?”  
“It’s like I have to put in more energy than normal. Like something is...stealing it away.”  
Mal’s lips pressed into a tight line. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”  
“You’re lying.” Adora called out immediately. Mal looked away.  
“Look, I have a guess, but I would rather not discuss it here.”

Adora nodded in understanding, climbing down easily. Then she looked up to Mal, and when she struggled, Adora caught her. Then Adora changed back and Catra caught her when she staggered backwards.

“Are you alright?”  
“Tab. Mal. Glimmer. Bow. You. Might have been too many people in too short a time.”

“Got it. We’re going to be able to rest for a while now though, at least.” Catra looked to Mal who still leaned on her fighter. “Right?”

“One can hope.” Mal gave a wry smile. “Let’s go.”

With Tom’s help, Mal walked back to the ship with Mog, Tallstar, Starla, Adora, Catra, Glimmer and Bow. Moments later, Entrapta had set up the crane to tow the two broken fighters back into the hangar and they were back into the air shortly after, almost aimlessly. It was then that it all began to sink in and they could feel the reality of the recent events weighing on them all.

“Are...you three going to be okay?”  
“Yeah kid,” Tom told Catra, “go rest up. We just need a moment.”

Mog and Tom stayed in the cargo bay with Mal, all of them silent, unmoving as they looked to the small holding cell they had in a sort of mutual understanding. That was where Tab was.

“Does this mean our crew is done, Mal?” Mog wondered.  
“Not necessarily.”

“If they never change back, what would you want us to do?” Tom asked.  
“Not sure yet.”

“Do you think Catra and the others will just go back to Etheria after this?” Mog questioned.  
“Hard to say.”

“We might be able to make it work. The three of us. Would you want that?” Tom inquired.  
“Worth a shot.”

“What about Panthera though?” Mog knew this question left a chink. Mal flinched.  
“We’re…” Mal sighed, “going to have to go back. That’s unavoidable now.”  
“You don’t want to?”  
“I had to be Queen on Starship Eternia but only for a little while. Going back means…”  
“But if we stabilize things back home, then at least Tab will get the best minds helping them?”

Mal sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Tom, seeing her distress wrapped her into a hug. Mog wrapped his lanky arms around them both and noticed he felt Mal shaking.

“Look after everyone. I’m going to go see Tab for a bit.” 

They pulled away and she limped, this time more noticeably, towards the cell. She put her hand on it and gave it a moment and heard the rustling and the agitation die down to something calmer. Carefully, she unlocked all of the locks and opened the door to see the giant feline before her with those stunning teal blue eyes she loved. She walked in and struggled to kneel before them. They sniffed at her and then nuzzled her hand.

“I’m an idiot.” Mal said softly. “I wanted these clean, easy to see lines that defined what I gave you and what you gave me, but that’s not how people work, is it?” Mal sighed, shaking her head and then pressing it to Tab’s. “I just wanted to know that you felt you could lean on me as much as I’m always leaning on you. I always just feel like I’m just eating away at your life.”

She ran her hand down Tab’s back and she smiled sadly.

“I thought I lost you today.” Mal squeezed her eyes shut. “I thought I lost you and the last words that I would have ever told you was that I didn’t want you near me.” Tab made a mewling sound and Mal chuckled wiping at her eyes. “That couldn’t be further from the truth though. I want you by my side. Always. I want to hold your hand when I’m dying. I love you. So much. I know I don’t say it enough.” She sighed. “I won’t leave you. Even if you’re stuck like this forever. Promise.”

*

Night had come and gone again before anyone felt sufficiently rested to begin seriously asking the question of: what came next. The sun seemed to rouse this sense of urgency to move forward. Kittrina could tell by how everyone’s exhaustion grew into a sense of deep restlessness. Take for example, Mog. Mog began to pace up and down his workshop whenever she looked in. He didn’t seem to take kindly to her being anywhere near.

She couldn’t really blame him. She kind of stabbed him after all.

“Kind of?” Catra snorted loudly. Oh crap. She said that out loud, didn’t she? “You did.”

“Embarrassing.” Kittrina said aloud on purpose this time. She bit a knuckle and looked at her older cousin. She looked kind of like her mother in some ways it was uncanny. It made sense. Her and Catra’s mothers were identical twins. “I guess I’m thinking way too hard about things.”

“Maybe you are.”  
“Is this the part where you finally punch me for being a bitch all this time?” Kittrina squinted.  
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t strongly considering it.” Catra smirked.  
“Oh joy.” Kittrina tensed, her ears flattening to her head. “Left or right?”  
“I’m not about to though.”

Kittrina blinked at that. “Huh. How come?”  
“Because while it may feel really good in the moment,” Catra paused, “it doesn’t fix things.”  
Kittrina slumped, her tail hung low. “Ah. See,” She frowned. “I don't think things can be fixed.”

Catra walked up to the railing to peak into the open space of the loading bay. Her mismatched eyes were clearly searching for something, or rather someone. Kittrina had a suspicion as to who but she wasn’t about to say it out loud. That would mean admitting she had woken up this early with the intention of catching a glimpse, of meeting, of saying something. Deep down the younger Theran knew both Catra and her came to talk to the same person. Their shared Aunt. She honestly wasn’t ready to admit something like that right now.

“So are you just going to walk away after this?” Catra asked. “Wash your hands, say it’s not your problem and just try to go it alone again?”

Kittrina swallowed the lump in her throat. “What do you even want from me Catra?” She hissed at her older cousin. “If it’s to rub it in my face that you were right when we met on the church rooftop, then fine. You were right! Happy?” She hissed. “Now leave me alone.”

“I was with the Horde on Etheria.” Catra said instead. Kittrina looked at her shocked. “Adora and I both were. They found us, thought we were both orphans and they raised us and it was literally all we knew. We were raised by this Sorcerer named Shadow Weaver. She was a real...” Catra made a strange expression, “piece of work. Let’s just say that. From what I saw and heard of Chief Carnivus, he actually reminds me of her. Like. A lot. Uncomfortably so.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Kittrina asked softly.

“We thought the Horde was bringing enlightenment to the planet. That the Princesses were these evil monsters and every Etherian soldier a murderer waiting for their chance.”

“Tch. Whatever.” Kittrina scoffed, looking away, but she didn’t move a single inch.

“Adora got out. She found the Sword of Protection. Err...the original one.” Catra scratched her cheek. “I’m not entirely sure how it all works but the one she had before looks different from the one she has now. She said Etheria chose her to be its Guardian or some strange crap like that.”

“What is your point Catra?” Kittrina was now getting annoyed. “You’re rambling.”

“Adora joined the Rebellion and began to see that everything wasn’t quite like we were told, and I was left behind.” Catra took a deep breath. “I was left behind and I hated her for it. For abandoning me. She was the most important person to me and she just left.”

“The only person who’s important to me is my mother.” Kittrina glared. “Get to your point.”

“Be a little patient here, I’m sort of telling a story.” Catra teased. Kittrina made a low grunt of a sound but didn’t attempt to move. “I tried to bring Adora back, and she refused and it made me furious. Then, to add insult to injury, she told me to come with her. To give up everything I knew for her when she couldn’t even be bothered to remember me when she went off on her own.”

Kittrina pulled away from the railing and looked at Catra long and hard. “We are not the same.”

Catra smiled at her. “Maybe not.” She put her arms on the railing and leaned forward, “but it seems to me you were hanging around here in the hopes that Mal had left the holding cell Tab was in for a moment so you could maybe talk to her. Were you going to apologize?”

“You don’t know me,” Kittrina’s eyes narrowed to slits. “or my Aunt De’va.”  
“You’re right, I don’t.” Catra admitted, “I know my good friend Mal, who’s like a big sister to me.”  
“They’re the same person, you know.” Kittrina grumbled. “So what do you really know?”

“You don’t seem to think so, or you would have told me not to call her Mal, or you wouldn’t call her De’va.” Catra countered, her eyes closing. She smirked. “It’s fine. I’m not here trying to convince you we ought to be best friends after all the crap that’s happened between you, me and Mal in the last couple of months, I’m just saying I kind of understand some of it. Some.”

Kittrina paused and then sighed. “What happened when Adora asked you to leave the Horde?”

“I didn’t leave. I told her she abandoned me. Then for the next three years I made her life hell. I worked my way up in the ranks. I fought her. A lot. I took down cities. I imprisoned people. Probably got a lot of folks killed.” There was a silence after that. One that made Kittrina shiver as she thought of her own deeds. “I betrayed Entrapta and hurt our friend Scorpia and Adora so many times. That still...haunts me. Almost as much as Horde Prime and what he did to me.”

“And now she’s holding your hand and staring at you with lovey dovey eyes. How freaking adorable.” Kittrina rolled her eyes. “Aunt...Mal,” she corrected, “isn’t like that.”

“Isn’t she though?” Catra spun around, her back leaning against the railing. From this angle she could catch Kittrina’s gaze and she looked away, huffing. “You wouldn’t be here if she just kicked you out to the curb the moment you came to her. Especially proclaiming Tab was dead.”

“She hugged me and called me a dumb kid.” Kittrina rasped.  
That got Catra to laugh. “Okay, that totally sounds like what she would do.”  
“Has she ever done something similar to you?” Kittrina asked, curious.

“Oh yeah.” Catra grinned. “When I first got on the boat she drop-kicked me in the face, then told me to chill because she and the others weren’t, to use her words ‘complete monsters’.”

Kittrina’s laugh was breathless, but her smile was bright. “She only pretends to be a badass. She’s a total softie you know. Tab’s the real badass between them.”

“I believe it, but Tab likes pretending to be an idiot, so I guess they balance each other out well, huh?” Catra chuckled at that, then she grew somber. Mal and Tab. What was going to happen to the two of them now? “You know, one time Mal and I fought and we destroyed a lot of the infirmary, and do you know what she did after I roughed her up?”

“No.”

“She took me out in the Clawdeen-Nu for a spin. It was the most carefree I’d seen her since I came on board. We landed on Terras and she decided it was time to confirm I was a part of her…” Catra trailed off, then looked Kittrina dead in the eye, “our,” she corrected, “family. She was infuriatingly obtuse the whole time though when I was putting two and two together. She didn’t want to heave that responsibility on me until she was absolutely certain.”

“That sounds like her.” Kittrina ducked her head. “She doesn’t want to be Queen. I always knew that, deep down, despite what Uncle said. It was just easier to believe his lie to stay angry at her, but she’s never really had an ambition for power.” Kittrina sighed. “I saw that so clearly the last time I was on this ship. There were so many times where she could have bamboozled someone, or force a situation in her favour so easily and she knew it and she would just shrug and...not do it.” 

“That seems like “Mal” to me.” Catra agreed.  
Kittrina shook her head. “My mother must have dropped the responsibility on her shoulders.”

They found a moment of silence between them and Catra closed her eyes, tilting her head back. Kittrina slouched so her forearms were on the railings, her eyes fluttering closed.

“Is there something she’s done that makes you really smile when you think of it?” Kittrina asked curiously. Catra blinked at that, confused at first. “Humour me. I want to see the whole person. Not just De’va.”

“She let me meet my Mom.” Catra admitted.  
“Aunt Lybica?”  
“I’m not sure how.”

“The Grimalkin attracts spirits that have unfinished business.” Kittrina hummed. “And your Mom has a personal connection to this current…” Kittrina’s brow furrowed as she searched for the appropriate word to describe the relationship “...avatar of the Grimalkin. It makes sense.”

“Yeah. It was weird. It was just her spirit, but still.” Catra opened her eyes. “She let us talk alone and when I asked her if she wanted to know what we discussed she said that every person deserves to have a moment of something that is only shared between them and their parents.”

Kittrina beamed at that, she was practically glowing.

“I was ten.” She began her own story. “Everyone thought she was dead, except Uncle Devon. Then he was murdered. There were whispers about her, but nobody believed them. She was so young when she ran off and the Verse is dangerous.” Kittrina explained. “Suddenly the ship I’m on is attacked and these Therans in their space suits -- Tab, Mog, Tom and her yank me out of there and I’m kicking and screaming and confused and terrified. She just pulled off her helmet, gave me a stupid smirk and said: Hey kiddo, you’ve grown! All nonchalant! Then she asked: do you think there’s any planet more beautiful than our Panthera? Wanna find out with me?”

“That sounds ridiculous. She just rolled up there like it was no big deal?” Catra laughed.

“Yep!” Kittrina laughed. “Blew a huge hole in the ship and you’d think she just went for a walk!”

They both laughed, the sound echoing in the space, and they heard a door open and a shuffling gait. Limping very heavily, Mal leaned on the wall, but looked up to catch the both of them laughing, and she smiled herself, a soft touch of her lips.

“Maybe everything is going to be okay after all.”

*

“It...kind of stinks in here.” Adora wrinkled her nose at it as Mal gestured for her to sit at Tab’s small table. “It’s a bit of a disaster.” Mal seemed to pay little heed as she carefully picked her way through the mess that was the Captain’s room. Tab’s room, the only place on the ship Mal could think of that they could have a discussion and not be interrupted or overheard. Carefully, she picked up dozens of Tab’s clothes and dumped them into a basket in the corner, weaving around empty rum bottles and ramen cups alike.

“My apologies,” Mal dumped another set of clothes into the basket, “though you have a Hume’s sense of smell. Imagine what it’s like for a Theran?”

“Yikes.” Adora watched as Mal busied herself with cleaning and was quickly getting the sense that despite how she limped she wasn’t going to stop the task. That the physical act of busying herself was going to make it easier for the emotional toll of this conversation. She frowned.

“Catra mentioned to me that Tab had some pretty significant wounds.” Mal had begun stripping the bed as one of many necessary tasks. “That without your intervention they would have died.”

“They were in pretty bad shape.”

“Then I thank you.” The comforter was bunched up and placed into the colour separated laundry basket. “Without you, Tab would be gone completely.”

“Don’t thank me.” Adora grumbled, “I wasn’t able to fix anything. They’re still stuck like that.”  
“Yes, well,” Mal paused, “we can’t win everything.” she sounded defeated.

“I’m sorry. When we healed them, we got taken to this strange place and Tab was there,” Adora began explaining, “but so was Horde Prime. They told us to leave.”

“Huh.” Mal froze, a pillow in one hand, its case in the other, “a spectre then. A remnant?”  
“A what?”

“Horde Prime...what was his conversion process really? We knew he cloned himself. We knew he changed to newer bodies, but what was the purpose of giving the chips other than the mind control?” Mal tossed the pillowcase aside, “Tab said he was always talking about his purity. About how he would bring the whole universe to his light. What if it was the opposite? The chip is how he tainted people. Left a piece of himself there.”

“You mean there’s still a bit of him around and maybe we could...purge it?”  
Mal’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. Something like that.”

“Huh.” Adora put a hand to her chin. “How do we do that though?”

“She-Ra.” Mal stated simply. “Every society who had a deep magical society has been all but wiped out by him. Our ancestors, the Qadians and Magicats included. Why would he do that?”

Adora’s eyes widened. “He feared magic.” Mal nodded. Adora felt it piecing together. “Maybe as She-Ra I could do it, but how? Do we just go back to that place? Tab threw us out.”

“Then you need a reason for Tab to keep you there.” Mal proposed.

“That could work.” Adora hummed as she thought about it. “Maybe the reason why Catra couldn’t help with that was because she has the same problem? Maybe if it was you instead?”

“Maybe.” Mal answered elusively, taking off the sheets and the remaining pillows Adora noticed the stiffness she moved with, the tension she held in her body and frowned.

“What made you think of that anyways?” Adora hedged. “That was oddly specific, the way you looked at it.” She paused. “You have the same issue, don’t you?” Mal paused. “Is this why magic seems to get absorbed when I heal you?”

“You’re not going to let that go, huh?” Came a low chuckle.

“It is why we came in here in the first place, wasn’t it?” Adora posed back. Mal threw her head back and laughed at that. Then the laughter quelled and she stared at the wall for a moment.

“When I was a little girl,” Mal began, “my favourite stories were about the Goddess Lynx. Every night I would beg my mother to tell me stories and one day she said something to me. Claimed it came from a holy scripture taught by the Cait Sith.”

“What was it?”

“When you meet the Goddess, you must kill the Goddess.” Mal began as she switched to collecting empty bottles of alcohol and corralling them together. “When you meet your parents, you must kill your parents. This is the only way for your path to be clear.”

Adora flinched at that. “Why would you kill your parents?” Then something clicked. “Did you actually kill Queen C’yra?”

Mal chuckled but shook her head. “I loved my mother more than anything. No, this scripture means killing in the figurative. As one of the few people to become as close to the Goddess than ever thought possible, I think I finally understand.”

Adora’s brow furrowed. Then she pieced it together. “The Goddess siphons magic...no, your life force from you?”

“Sort of,” Mal shrugged pausing from her work, “life and magic to us Therans are so closely related that to weaken my magic does mean to weaken my life, but it’s kind of ironic. You see, I was dead to begin with. She was the one to bring me back.”

“How...why?”

“When children are critically ill, and their parents fear death is imminent, they anoint them with the runes of the Goddess.” Mal pointed to her markings on her face. “They rub off after a few days to weeks but mine didn’t. They became permanent.” She stooped down to collect the ramen noodle cups one by one as she spoke. “They believed I was chosen by the Goddess. I was weak in body, but being so close to death all the time led to me having the spiritual abilities of a Cait Sith. I had great magical potential as well, so much so I was born with two tails.”

“So then you died as a child?”

“No. As a teenager. When I fell on Terras.” Mal sighed and sat on the floor, now stacking the cups in front of her. She brought one to her nose and sniffed. “Ugh. Really Tab? You ate all the shrimp ones?”

“What’s wrong with shrimp?” Adora blinked.

“It’s my favourite. The jerk.” Mal pouted. “And you always have to rinse it out when you’re done or else it goes rancid really badly. Geeze. No wonder it stinks like hell in here.”

Adora laughed at that and stood up. “Here, let me help you.” She began clearing out the bottles and Mal went back to collecting the garbage around the room. “If there’s anything I’m not sure about, I’ll check in with you, okay?”

“Sounds good.” Mal busied herself. “Anyways, as I was saying. I fell on Terras. I was escaping the Dens. I was still able to transform, but my leg was a mess. It’s hard running on three legs. I lost my footing and I remembered lying in a pool of my own blood and everything going black.”

“Then the Goddess came to you?” Adora questioned following along.  
“No. The Grimalkin did.”  
“But you said~”

“They’re one and the same, just like how we Therans are both our bipedal and quadruped forms.” Mal explained swiftly, “My burning anger as I died called her to me as the Demon Grimalkin rather than as the Goddess Lynx.” Mal hummed. “I wished for three things. To live a little longer. To see Carnivus, Randor and the Sorceress pay, and to see my family be safe.”

“Randor...as in my father?” Adora dropped the bottles and they clattered loudly.

“One and the same.” Mal caught her eye and held her gaze firmly. “He enabled my Uncle. I knew it from the start. Had Eternia not had such vested interest in our internal affairs, Uncle wouldn’t have tried a coup.”

“You’re...going to kill my father?” Adora echoed.  
“Is there anything in the Verse more binding than a contract with a God?” Mal closed her eyes.  
“But then...if you kill my father…” Adora trailed off, disbelieving.

“At some point in time? You and I? We’re going to be enemies, Adora. That is our destiny.” Mal’s eyes opened but they were narrowed. “What is best for you probably lies off this ship.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carnivus getting a little backstory here? Him being a little relatable? Mind you, he's still a monster imho. Just the type who lost a child rather tragically, got very little sympathy from his sister the Queen and grew bitter enough to feel killing her and making her children miserable for being able to live their lives while his son didn't was "only fair". Or, rather, those are the emotions that made him comfortable with proceeding how he did, but for what purpose?
> 
> We now have some insight on Carnivus' fixation on Mal: other than the fact that she was to marry his son, young Mal was fairly empathic and seemed to pick up that her uncle was still deeply saddened -- while her siblings and the others were kind of just getting back to life being normal. And then an innocent question with implications a child couldn't fully comprehend.
> 
> It's interesting that Carnivus calls on the Goddess Lynx...
> 
> Speaking of father figures of the unhealthy kind, time to mention the healthy kind: a little bit on Tom before he met the crew! Also having him be gay and with Percy? Wasn't ever the original plan but it works for him and I really like it. They be cute in this chapter.
> 
> Now we finally know what Mal's side of the pact is and so does a big bulk of the cast now (since they figured out it was revenge). However, few of them are aware of what she traded for those things. Well that's going to be fun when that blows up...
> 
> And yes Mal speaking of things blowing up, this whole "wanting to be a better wife" thing blew up in your face badly and you should always be careful of what you wish for because Karma is a jerk.
> 
> The real question here though is something that is either potential inconsistency on Mal's part or Mal doing what she does best sometimes (lie). How much involvement did Randor actually have? Is he truly on the kill list or is this Mal trying to manipulate Adora into leaving to fulfill part of her deal with Adam?
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER:
> 
> “You're doing it again.” Catra called her out.  
> “Doing what?”  
> “That thing where you worry about things you can’t fix.”
> 
> Adora put a hand to her forehead. “It doesn’t sit right with me that we’re leaving all of this in a few days. Things are a mess. They have so much to rebuild. We’re partially at fault for that.”
> 
> “Yeah, but that kind of rebuilding effort is going to take months. Years even.” Catra pointed out, frowning. “We don’t have that kind of time right now.”

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man. 
> 
> I was shy about posting this for a hot second. Mostly because I wanted to have Oc’s in this. 
> 
> In order for OCs to feel fleshed out, that means character development. Unlike the canon characters, I have no “Canon” to explain away why some characters do things so I have to show this. I also want Catra’s bond to them to feel genuine, so showing how they warm to her in their own ways is needed. Now, I know I am a strong character writer, that’s not my concern.
> 
> My concern is, historically speaking, OCs tend to get labeled Mary Sues for showing the slightest bit of competence over the canon characters in anything. (The reality though for this story is: There is NO WAY IN HELL most of the cast is going to understand how the wider Universe works after Etheria was isolated for so long. While the Star Siblings will be coming around, I wanted some folks who weren’t so neat and tidy ‘good guys’ but people who had some dirt since they had to survive how hostile the Verse is.) While I definitely understand why — who wouldn’t love more of what they love and to keep it freeze frame perfect — from a writing perspective, that gets very limiting when you’re trying to expand on things the Canon didn’t go into with any sort of depth. Someone has to help lead the characters in that discovery, someone more steeped into it than they are. Especially with those who’s “where did you come from” story is left lacking.
> 
> Well, here we go. I’m hoping the She-Ra: POP fandom might be open minded to OCs. :) Tell me in the comments who you think these characters are most like from Firefly and Cowboy Bebop because the Crew, (whom you’ll meet soon) is definitely inspired by both of those crews.
> 
> I’ll let you know if you got it right (but only if telling you won’t give a plot point away) :)


End file.
